Gold, Silver, and Bronze
by Cheese Wizzard
Summary: (Post-fma series with some changes?) Ed has been sent to a rural town to investigate a series of disappearances and murders. Once he arrives, he meets a strange, white-haired boy who knows more than he lets on. Working together, they must discover the truth and defeat their enemies. Together. No pairings. Semi-AU. Universe mashup. Friendship fic. Violence. Few kinda gory scenes.
1. Prologue: Gold and Silver

Edward tries not to glare at the annoyingly incompetent police chief in front of him.

"A-And _then_ …" The man's skin starts to gleam with sweat as he fiddles with his uniform. "I-I swear, they weren't human-"

"That's why I'm here, _Chief._ " Edward angrily interjects, completely sick of the man. "Now hurry up and tell me what the fuck happened so I can do something about it!"

—

"…I wish Al was here." Edward sighs as starts down the snow-coated street. "This sucks."

After walking for a few minutes, Ed spots a brightly lit tavern, complete with half a dozen drunks loitering outside. A strange, haunting piano melody wafts into the street, causing the alchemist to stop in his tracks.

"You like it, little boy?"  
Ed spins around to see a large woman grinning at him through the doorway.  
"What-"

"It's cold outside, come and have a drink."  
"I don't drink." Ed responds with a huff.  
"Then come warm yourself up." The woman laughs good-naturedly. "It's not good to be out this late at night."

—

"Here." The woman passes Edward a large glass over the bar.

"I told you, I don't-"

"It's hot chocolate." The woman grins. "I do have ears, you know."  
"…Thanks." Ed fishes a coin from his pocket and tosses it to her.  
"You're from out of town." She takes the money happily and leans towards him.

"That's right." Edward replies.  
"What brought you here?"  
"Why do you care?" Ed huffs.  
"You look interesting, boy." The woman grins.  
"How about you tell me some things too, then?" Edward leans back with a grin. "Equivalent exchange."

—

"Are you sure?" Ed looks helplessly towards Felicia.  
"Absolutely." Felicia grins as she absentmindedly wipes down the bar.

"Then, I have no leads." Edward sighs. "Great."  
"Well, don't be so down." Felicia reassures. "You've only just got here."  
"Any idea where I should start?" Ed asks hopefully.  
"Hm…" Felicia looks around thoughtfully before splitting into an ear-to-ear grin. "I have some idea."

In that moment, A familiar melody restarts, causing Ed to spin around and follow Felicia's gaze.

An odd, white-haired boy sits at a large, black piano atop a small elevated stage. Various drunks don't seem to notice, but all pacify slightly as the music starts. It's a subtle change, but nothing gets past the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"His name's Allen." Felicia says suddenly, making Ed turn back to her.  
"Yeah?"  
"He hasn't said much else." Felicia smiles. "But he's damn good at that piano."

"Where'd he come from?" Ed wonders. "He doesn't seem to be from here."  
"You'd be right." Felicia nods. "He turned up a few months ago."  
"How'd he end up there?" Ed turns back to the stage.  
"Well, he out-cheated everyone at poker." Felicia laughs. "And after people stopped playing him, he asked for a job."

"Poker?" Ed raises an eyebrow. "He doesn't seem the type."  
"You'd be surprised." Felicia says. "You should never judge people by their appearance."

"…I suppose so."

—

"And here's your key." Felicia throws the key at Ed, which he catches easily.  
"Thanks."  
"You're the last room on the left." Felicia adds. "Pay in the morning if you want to stay longer."  
"Yeah, okay."

—

"Thanks for cleaning up, Allen." Felicia grins at the boy as he sweeps of the last table.  
"It's no problem." Allen smiles. "Besides, I'd feel bad dumping it all on you."

"Then, I need you to do something else." Felicia smirks.  
"…What kind of 'something else'?" Allen raises an eyebrow and heads over.

"There was a boy here tonight." Felicia explains. "Works for the military."  
"Yeah?"  
"He's looking into the murders around here." Felicia continues. "I told him to go talk to you tomorrow."  
"And you want me to help out." Allen finishes with a small smile.  
"I _know_ you know more than you let on." Felicia laughs. "At least give him some hints."

—

Ed sleepily locks the door to his room, vaguely aware of the noise coming from the tavern below.

"Morning, sunshine." Felicia cheerily greets Edward as he slumps onto one of the bar stools.

"Mornin'." Ed stifles a yawn, leaning forward onto the bar.

"He's a little out of it." Ed barely listens to Felicia as a figure enters his peripheral vision.

"He was up late." The figure speaks. "He left just as we packed up."  
"Hey, sunshine." Felicia leans towards Edward. "I need to introduce you two."

—

Allen watches the teen curiously. His bright, golden hair and eyes immediately drawing his attention. The iconic red coat immediately tells Allen who this particular teen is.

"Nice to meet you." Allen politely holds out his right hand. "My name's Allen."  
"Edward Elric." Ed sits up slowly and takes Allen's hand, slightly surprised by their matching white gloves.

"You're off work for today." Felicia turns to Allen, who's eyes widen in surprise.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Definitely." Felicia grins. "I've got to get a newbie into the swing of things anyway. Better to push to load onto him."  
"Well, alright then." Allen smiles and turns back to Edward. "I hope you don't mind me tagging along for today."  
"Meh." Edward shrugs, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair.

"I'll leave you two alone." Felicia wanders off, leaving the two teens on the bar.

—

Edward doesn't think much of the boy. His white hair there him off initially, but he seemed far too passive for Ed's liking. Ed watches him take a seat next to him a polite smile plastered into his face.

"Felicia says you can help me." Ed opens, shifting his position to face Allen properly.  
"Depends on what you want to know." Allen grins. "And what you already know."

"Right." Ed leans back slightly, watching Allen curiously.

"And? What do you know?" Allen mimics Ed slightly. "I'd hate to bore you."

"Five people have been killed in the last three weeks." Ed recounts lazily. "All in various pieces and all who disappeared at least five days beforehand."  
"Six." Allen says suddenly, turning away from Edward.  
"Huh?" Ed leans forward. "Six whats?"  
"Six deaths." Allen says sadly. "The last one was found this morning, about an hour ago."

"How do you know that?" Ed asks suspiciously.

"Because the police chief just came in the door." Allen gestures behind him. "And just told Felicia about the find."

"What the-" Ed leans to his left, over the bar, and spots Felicia talking to the annoying man from yesterday. He can barely make out their words.

"You're sure that you didn't see anything?" The chief asks desperately.

"I'm absolutely sure." Felicia shakes her head. "Seems like you're short on witnesses Caesar."

"…Something like that." Caesar sighs. "I-I'll keep in touch."

"…You've got good ears." Ed mutters as the chief leaves solemnly.

"It's a talent." Allen shrugs.

"And that makes six deaths, six bodies and no leads." Ed groans. "Great."  
"…Not quite." Allen says quietly, a small smile on his face.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ed stares at Allen.  
"You want a lead, right?" Allen turns towards him.  
"Of course." Ed nods.  
"…The bodies, they were moved from the place they were killed." Allen almost whispers. "In fact, they were all killed at the same place."  
"How do you know that?" Ed demands. "And don't tell me you overheard it."  
"I didn't." Allen grins. "Try taking another look at the crime scenes."  
"The crime scenes?"  
"Where they were found." Allen hops of his seat, heading slowly towards the door. "I'll show you."

—

"…I don't get it." Ed glares at the bloodstained cobble stones of the dingy alleyway. A light chatter of shoppers echo from the market place just nearby, causing long shadows to dance across the walls.

"You've seen a lot of fights, right Edward?" Allen crouches down.  
"Yeah?"  
"What usually happens?"  
"Uh…" Ed turns back to the alleyway.  
"…The body was found just there." Allen points right into the blood stains. "In pieces."

Ed mutters something ineligible before freezing. "Shit."  
"Hm?" Allen stands back up, looking at Ed curiously. "What was that?"  
"…I said…" Ed takes a step forward, suddenly enthralled by the narrow space. "There should be more blood."

"What makes you say that?" Allen asks with a smile, watching Ed's retreating back.  
"An adult will have about four point seven to five and a half litres of blood." Ed explains, animatedly exploring the space.  
"And?"  
"From how much is here…" Ed turns back to the dried stains. "And how much space it's covered…There was only about two litres spilt…"  
"So?"  
"So…" Ed turns to Allen excitedly. "They couldn't have been killed here!"

Ed stares at Allen, a smiles still on his face form his revelation. Suddenly, it drops as another hits him.  
"…Which is exactly what you told me." Ed groans. "Shit."  
"Don't be so down." Allen reassures, heading over to him. "You got it pretty fast."  
"Yeah, well…" Ed straightens up. "It doesn't really help us."

"Well…" Allen says thoughtfully. "If the bodies were moved to places around the city, it can't have been for no reason."  
"Right." Ed nods. "Then, if we can figure out what the locations mean…then it can give us some clues to the killer!"  
"…Elementary." Allen mutters.  
"What was that?" Ed turns to look at him.  
"Nothing, nothing." Allen smiles. "So, where to next?"

—

"Uh, here." The police chief, Caesar, lays out a map in front of Edward, with six red Xs marked across it.

"Thanks." Ed waves the man away and leans forward to inspect the map.

Unfortunately, Allen hadn't been allowed into the police station, leaving the teen staring at the passing people walk by.

Allen slumps down the ground, letting his head rest against the front of the station. He can see his breath mix with the freeing air in a blast of the white air, swirling into nothingness. Even in the middle of the day, the sun is barely seen through the thick, grey clouds above. Allen just hopes that it won't rain, but judging his past luck, it'll probably hail instead.

"I've got it!" Ed loudly emerges from the station, causing Allen to jump up.  
"You did?"  
"I think it's just a simple pattern." Ed explains. "You know, every third street, down two blocks, ignoring any larger roads of heavily populated areas.

"So?" Allen prompts. "Any leads?"  
"They all seem to be equidistant from a particular building." Ed continues. "Actually, it's a large block, but it's a start."

—

"…Here?" Allen looks out at the large park, the grass shrivelled and trees bare of leaves.  
"I'm sure of it." Ed nods confidently as he takes off down the path.  
"If you say so." Allen follows after him, carefully watching their surroundings.

"There are street lamps everywhere!" Allen calls after Ed. "It wouldn't be easy to kill someone here, especially multiple times!"

"There's got to be something!" Ed insists, all but glaring at the parklands.

"Well, there's at least eighteen gallons of blood somewhere." Allen adds. "Or, at least the remains."

The pair investigate the park for another hour, Edward stubbornly checking every park bench and lamp post.

"Do lots of people come through here?" Ed wonders, staring down the winding paths.  
"Not really." Allen shrugs. "Since winter, people don't come here often. But it's a useful shortcut between the main streets."

"Hm…" Ed sits on the nearest park bench and lets out a long sigh. "This isn't going anywhere."  
"It's only been a few hours." Allen says, taking a seat next to him. "There's still plenty of time."  
"Plenty of time for more people to die." Ed says gloomily.  
"…You're annoyingly pessimistic." Allen grumbles.  
"And you're annoyingly optimistic." Ed retorts angrily. "It cancels out."

"Sure." Allen shrugs and tips his head upwards to stare at the greying sky.

—

"Huh?" Ed sits up suddenly, eyes focused directly in front of him.  
"What is it?" Allen looks towards him and follows his gaze.  
"There." Ed stands, moving jogging forwards.  
"Hey, wait up!" Allen scrambles after him. "What are you looking at?"

Ed doesn't reply, instead he speeds up, leaving Allen to trail after him.

—

"This?" Allen watches Ed stare up at a small, metal circle. "Isn't this a manhole?"

"That's in the middle of a park?" Ed grins. "I'm opening it."  
"Don't-"  
Ed stands over the hole and raises his left foot. The cover easily break free as Ed slams down onto it. The loud echoes clatter for a few moments.

"Tell me that isn't a sewer…" Allen warily steps forward.  
Ed leans down and takes a look through the hole. "…It's not a sewer."

—

"Wait here." Ed starts down a rattly ladder, which shudders under his weight.

"You don't expect me to just wait for you." Allen retorts, stepping forward.  
"You're a civilian." Ed says. "I can't really let you-"

"Try and stop me." Allen crouches down with a smirk.  
"…Fine, whatever." Ed glares up at Allen. "Don't blame me when you're hurt."  
"I'll try."

—

"It's not a sewer, but it still stinks." Ed stares disdainfully at the slightly damp, metal floors. Everything else seems to be dug out of the ground, with various pipes and piers of trash protruding form the otherwise stone and dirt walls.

Allen kicks aside the bent manhole cover, causing a loud clang.

"Which way?" Allen asks, looking at the tunnel continuing on either side.

"…Right." Ed decides, starting in that direction.

"What makes you say that?" Allen wonders, heading after him.  
"Fifty-fifty chance." Ed shrugs, not turning around.  
"Heh."

—

"Hm?" Ed stops as a door appears on their left.

"A door?" Allen takes a closer look.  
"Let's get it open." Ed grins.

"How?" Allen raises an eyebrow and gestures to the iron door. "It's made of metal."  
"…" Ed falters before muttering under his breath. "It's times like these…"  
"Huh?"

"Nothing." Ed sighs. "Let's keep moving."

"Oh, why so soon?"  
A monotonic voice echoes through the tunnel, causing the two to look around suddenly.

"What the hell?" Ed glares at the tunnel walls. "Who's there!?"  
"Hehehehe…"  
"Edward?" Allen takes a step back, eye fixed on the tunnel behind them.  
"Won't you come in?"

The iron door creaks open, revealing the large room beyond.  
"…I think we know where all that blood went." Allen murmurs.

"Shit."

—

"Where'd that voice come from?" Allen muses as the two wander into the room.

"What the…" Ed crouches down to the tracks of blood across the ground.

"What is it?" Allen watches Ed inspect the floor.  
"No idea." Ed looks up at the giant room, including the giant pillars holding up the ceiling.  
"How far down did we go?" Allen wonders, staring at the high ceiling.  
"Not that far." Ed narrows his eyes.  
"Then…"  
"We might me inside a building." Ed says. "At least the top parts are."  
"There aren't many big buildings near the park…" Allen says thoughtfully. "Directly right of where we entered would be…"  
"Here." Ed retrieves the police map from his jacket and rolls it out.

"We're under here, I think." Allen points to a small cluster of buildings. "I've never seen anyone go in or out of there."

"You wouldn't…"  
"What was that?" Ed and Allen look up from the map.

"No one leaves here alive…"

"Don't be a coward!" Ed calls out. "Stop hiding!"  
"Heh…"

A loud creak is followed by the slam of the door and the click of a lock.  
"Great." Ed mutters, moving into the room's centre.

"What now?" Allen asks.

"I…" Ed looks down, eyebrow's furrowed in concentration. "Wait a second."  
"Huh?"

Ed rushes the the back of the room, a determined expression on his face.

"Step back!" Ed calls to Allen, gesturing to the right wall.  
Allen silently complies, jogging backwards with his eyes focused on Ed.

"What the fuck…" Ed speaks quietly, but Allen can still hear his voice echo through the empty room.  
"What is it?" Allen calls, slowly walking around the room's edge.

"It's a transmutation circle of some kind." Edward scowls. "But I've never seem one like this before."

"It's a bit of an experiment." The metallic voice speaks again, except now it's gained a more human undertone.  
"What kind of experiment?" Ed angrily demands.  
"Would you like to find out?"

—

The ground shudders suddenly, nearly knocking the two teens off their feet.

"What!?" Ed steadies him on a nearby pillar, watching as the bloody circle in front of them lowers slightly, about thirty centimetres into the ground.  
"Look out!" Allen calls out suddenly, causing Ed to spin around suddenly.

Unfortunately, it wasn't in time to block the sharp push from the man.

Ed topples onto the circle, taking a second to look up at his attacker.

The man is dressed ridiculously, with a brightly coloured suit and trench coat. A large, excessively decorated top hat covers his entire head, even falling over his eyes. All Ed could see was the menacing glint of a pair of glasses and an equally disturbing grin.

"Ed!? Are you alright?  
Ed looks to his left, immediately spotting Allen a little ways away. He hasn't spotted the strange man yet.  
"Stay there!" Ed calls out, getting to his feet.

"Good idea." The man chuckles, regaining Ed's attention.  
"What-"

Allen cries out suddenly as the ground rumbles again, tendrils of rock jumping upwards and gripping onto his arms and legs.

"It's always good to have a back-up." The man grins, taking a step away from Edward.  
"Don't think you've won." Ed growls, jumping forward to meet the man.

"Oh, but I already have."

—

The blinding white flash causes ed to stumble, using one hand to cover his eyes.

Once the light clears, Ed looks around, only for a shockwave of foreboding to scramble his guts.  
"Fuck."

—

"Ed!?" Allen calls out, watching the near-blinding lights dance across the circle. Ed hadn't noticed, but about a dozen figures had joined him on the circle, all dressed in back robes and clicking like machines.

Unfortunately, Allen had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

—

"It's good to see you."  
Ed looks up to glare at the figure of white. His large grin as prominent and troubling as ever.

"Wish I could say the same." Ed grits out, not daring to move closer. "What the hell is this anyway?"  
"It's funny actually." Truth lets out a sharp laugh.  
"I doubt it." Ed growls.

Suddenly, a dozen figures appear around Ed, their black robes stained with fresh blood and their bodies almost completely crushed.  
"These ones didn't make it." Truth grins.  
"Who are they?" Ed looks warily at the one nearest him, just a metre to his left.

"Wrong question." Truth taunts. "Try 'what'."

Ed crouches down and reaches out for the black hood, resisting the urge to flinch at the bloody wetness still present.

Pulling the fabric back, Ed catches a glimpse of what lies underneath.  
"What the hell is this?" Ed turns back to the Truth. "What are these?"

The half-metal skull seems to stare up at Ed, even with it's absent eyes. The remaining flesh twists painfully against the blackened metal, probably iron, which is complete with various bolts, screws and nails.

"They have no name." Truth finally says. "But their maker calls them Demons."  
"Demons?" Ed raises an eyebrow.  
"Souls returned from hell." Truth finishes with a grin.

"Returned…" Ed turns back to the fallen figures. "Like the homunculi?"  
"You know that I can't tell you that much." Truth takes a few steps forward. "Besides, there's still a transmutation to finish.  
"What do you mean?" Ed glare hardens.

"You'll see."

—

The light fades as quickly as it came, the blinding white disappearing into nothing in under a second, finally letting Allen see the results.

Amazingly, Ed lies across the ground, but he's too far for Allen to see any…damages. The black-robed figures had disappeared, but something else lies in the circle.

"Perfect."  
Allen freezes as a _very_ familiar man steps out onto the circle, sweeping past Ed and walking over to the opposite side, where a small green crystal glows.

Taking it into his hand, the man inspects it for a second before shrugging and slipping it into his pocket.  
"I'll test it later."

"Ugh." Ed twitches slightly, groaning as he tries to sit up.  
"Hm…" The man looks at Ed disdainfully, as if he were a cockroach that has escaped extermination. "That's not right."  
He pulls the green crystal back out, suddenly glaring at it. "Then this is another failure." The crystal is easily crushed in his grip, the remaining dust falling to the ground and dissipating.

"Ed! Get away!" Allen calls out quickly, not wanting the man to hurt his new friend.

 _Is that what they were? Friends?_

"Huh?" Ed's head snaps up, immediately spotting the man, no more than a few meters away. "Shit."  
"Oh, hush." The man turns to Allen, an annoyingly passive expression across his face. "Stay there a little longer, will you? I have to deal with this first."  
"Ed!" Allen calls again, hoping he wouldn't be forced to intervene. Edward is strong enough. At least strong enough to escape… He _has_ to be.  
"Deal with me?" Ed grins, a fire sparking in his eyes. "Just try it."  
"You seem very sure of yourself." The man says, stepping forward.  
"You'd be surprised how little time it takes to learn some new tricks!" With the last word, Ed crouches to the ground for a split-second, only to rise with a blue flash and a large, spear in his hands.

With one strong jab, the man is pushed backwards by Ed's spear. The man appears unresponsive, so Ed moves to strike again.  
"This isn't over."  
It comes out as just a whisper, but Ed easily hear's the man's words.

—

The burst of smoke quickly fills the entire room, completely obscuring Allen's vision. There are no sounds, just a deafening silence as the grey smoke slowly sinks to the ground, coating the ground in a thin layer.

"You alright?"  
Allen spots Ed, who's slowly walking over, his spear nowhere to be seen.

"…Fine." Allen nods, glancing back down at his rocky restraints with a sheepish smile. "Just a little stuck."  
"Here." Ed reaches out to the stone, and with a flash of light, causing it to crumble into dust.

"Was that alchemy?" Allen wonders, rubbing his sore wrists. "I thought you-"

"Me too…" Ed scowls before shaking his head. "Let's get out of here."

—

the two walk back in an awkward, thick silence. Ed seems lost in thought, absentmindedly rubbing his left arm. Allen watches on warily, not wanting to disturb him.

They emerge back at the park, the sun now a far way down the sky. The park lamps are all lit, replacing the lost light.

"You should head back to the inn." Ed days suddenly, face still stony.  
"What about you?" Allen asks.

"I need to make a call."

—

"Yes? This is-"

"Hawkeye? I need to-"

"Edward? What's wrong?"  
"…Nothing."  
"Don't try to lie to me."  
"Just…Is Al there?"  
"…Let me check."

"Alphonse?" Riza Hawkeye leans in through the doorway, immediately spotting the younger, golden-eyed teen.

"Yes?" Al looks up sleepily from a large book across his lap.  
"Edward's on the phone." She holds up the phone for emphasis. "It sounds important."

"Brother?"  
"Al!"  
"Did something happen? Are you alright?"  
"I, uh, it's a long story."  
"I've got plenty of time."

—

Ed awkwardly enters the full inn, loud shouts attempt to talk over each other, as a familiar piano tune plays in the background.

"You're back late." Felicia grins from across the bar, five glasses in her hands.  
"Rough day." Ed mutters. "I thought Allen'd tell you."  
"He wouldn't say a word." Felicia frowns. "Did something happen?"  
"Something." Ed shrugs. "I'm going upstairs."  
"Alright then." Felicia watches the boy retreat, weaving through the crowds and swirly heading up the stairs and out of sight.

—

"Alright, what happened today?" Felicia confronts Allen as the last customer leaves the building.  
"Nothing." Allen shakes his head, not meeting Felicia's eyes.  
"Don't give me that." Felicia reprimands. "Now tell me."  
"…" Allen looks down uncomfortably.  
"Alright, fine." Felicia huffs. "But if I find out that you did something dangerous or _stupid_." She fixes him with a glare. "You're going to pay for it."  
"Yes ma'am." Allen nods with a small grin, enough to sooth the angry bar-woman.

"Get out of here." Felicia pushes Allen away. "You look like you need the rest."

—

Ed peeks through the crack in his door, spotting the still lit inn below. He'll have to take the window.

The police chief had said not to go back, that they'd investigate in the morning. Hell, even Al had asked him not to.

But he had to.

Whatever these 'Demons' where, they weren't anything good.

—

Allen steps out into the freezing street, the deep blackness of the sky almost dripping onto the world below. The shining stars less then specks in the distance, a bright moon bares down on him like an angry god.

 _That was a good one._

—

The manhole cover comes away easily, allowing Ed to quickly slip inside.

—

Allen jogs down the empty streets, favouring the darker sides, letting his form disappear into the darkness.

—

Ed curses his loud footsteps, which echo obviously through the small tunnel.

—

Allen comes to a stop suddenly, as the silence is broken by a sound that rocks his body with fear.

—

Ed immediately hears the clicks. Along with the sound of metal against stone. And…the sound of a cocked gun.

—

Allen apprehensively heads into the dark alley, hoping that the Demons hadn't claimed another victim.

—

Ed scowls as the sounds disappear as quickly as they came, which is to say slowly and unevenly.

Soon, the silence returns, and Ed keeps walking.

—

Allen looks around the dark alley. He could have sworn it came from here…

Unfortunatley, he was right.

Even more unfortunately, that was definitely a gunshot. And that was definitely blood seeping through his shirt.

Shit.

—

Ed hears the gunshot. It echoes far louder than his footsteps. The sound continues to bounce in front of him, eventually getting swallowed by the darkness.

Ed doesn't even hesitate.

He turns and he runs.

—

Allen glares at the figure in front of him. It's half-metallic body glistening slightly in the moonlight.

Dropping to his knees, Allen tries to keep his eyes on the Demon as it moves closer slowly.

It's right arm isn't an arm at all, instead a long-barrelled gun sits where it's forearm should be. A gun which has just shot Allen in his stomach.

"You'll regret that."

—

Ed spots the small ladder immediately. An even smaller grate sits above him, giving Ed a clear view of the moon above.

—

Ed jumps up into the alley way, senses all focused on finding the attacker.

Instead, he spots a familiar white-headed teen, leaning against the far wall of the alley.

His clothes are covered in a dark blood, not quite human, but blood nonetheless.

Ed tries to step forward, only for his foot to collide with a body. Ed immediately spots the metallic attachments, giving Ed a very good idea of what it is.

"Hey, Ed." Allen grins weakly as Ed carefully steps around the fallen Akuma.

"What happened?" Ed looks warily at Allen's blood-stained clothes. "Is that-"

"Most of it isn't mine." Allen lets out a deep breath. "But, yeah, some of it is."  
"What did you do?" Ed turns back to the Demon, it's dark blood slowly pooling across the cobblestones.

"Heh." Allen holds out a large army knife, it's blade dripping with a deep red.  
"Happened a little fast." Allen says admits, moving forward only to immediately regret it at the painful tug from his stomach. "Urk."  
"Where are you hurt?" Ed moves closer, expression softening.  
"Shot me." Allen softly explains. "Sorry."  
"Can you get back to the inn?" Ed asks.

"…Probably." Allen winces.  
"Keep your hand on it." Ed advises, slinging Allen's free arm over his shoulders. "I'll help you walk."

—

"What on earth?" Felicia immediately rushes over as the two stumble into the inn.

"We need a doctor." Ed says quickly. "Allen's been shot."  
"Shot?" Felicia's eyes widen in horror. "I-I'll see if doctor Carter is still up."

"Where should I put him!?" Ed calls, watching Felicia hurry off.  
"In my room!" She points to a small door behind the bar. "I'll be with you in a minute!"

—

"Shit, shit, shit." Ed mutters to himself as he presses down on Allen's bleeding stomach.

"Stop freaking out." Allen all by whispers, watching Ed with a lazy expression.  
"Tell that to me when your not mortally wounded." Ed retorts.  
"Maybe I will." Allen grins as Felicia enters the room, a small box in her hands.

"This is all I have." She says, passing the box to Ed. "Doctor Carter will be here in a few minutes.

—

"He'll recover, thankfully." Doctor Carter nods to Felicia and Edward. "The bullet didn't hit anything vital, but he's lost a lot of blood."  
"How can we help him?" Felicia asks worriedly.

"He needs rest, mostly." Carter replies. "But you should take him to a proper hospital if you can, within the next week."

"…Thank you." Felicia nods. "Thanks you so much."  
"It's my pleasure." Carter turns to Edward. "Take good care of your friend."  
"I will."

—

"Ugh." Allen stirs with a groan. His stomach stings like hell and his mouth feels like it's stuffed with cotton, not to mention his almost indecipherable memories. "What happened?"  
"A few things." Ed appears to Allen's right, sitting on a backwards chair and leaning on the back.

"Ed?" Allen blinks at the teen.

"Why were you out in the streets?" Ed seriously questions.

"I wanted to head back." Allen admits. "To where we found the circle."  
"Why?"  
"…" Allen looks away, like he's been caught in a lie.

"Well, whatever." Ed shrugs. "I'm glad you're not dead, though."  
"Really." Allen raises an eyebrow, a small grin forming on his face. "Thanks for caring."  
"Shut it." Ed bites, not quite angrily. "It's just…"  
"What?" Allen shifts in his spot, leaning closer to Edward.

"You remind me of my brother." Ed admits with a smile.

"You have a brother?"  
"Yeah, his name's Alphonse. He's a year younger than me."  
"Must be nice, having a sibling."  
"It was nicer with a whole family."

"Ugh, it's not like it lasted long." Ed sighs, standing up uncomfortably. "I…I'm heading to the site. Chief Caesar is meeting me there.  
"Oh, good luck then."

—

"U-Uh g-good morning-"  
"Yeah, hey." Edward dismisses the nervous police chief Caesar as he approaches the manhole.

"We've started mapping out the tunnels." An unnamed police officer informs Edward.  
"Find anything?" Ed asks, preparing to drop in himself.  
"N-Nothing except that room you told us about." Caesar answers. "The rest is just tunnels, a-as far as we can tell."  
"Good." Ed mutters, taking the first steps into the tunnels. "At least there's no more of those damn circles."

"U-Uh…" The chief watches Ed nervously.  
"What?" Ed demands.

"T-There was something…"

—

"Gross." Ed scowls at the dead Demon, it's body unnaturally spread across the ground, complete with clumps of rotting flesh and clotted blood.

"A-Are there any more?" Caesar looks around nervously.

"…Somehow, I doubt it." Ed says. "They've abandoned this place and broke the circle."  
"T-Then they've moved on." Caesar says hopefully. "They w-won't bother us anymore."  
"Probably not." Ed heads back towards the ladder, leaving the police to clean up the mess.

—

"How'd it go?" Allen watches Ed enter the back room from his, technically Felicia's, bed.

"Boring." Ed sighs. "Seems that the Demons and anyone one else who used the tunnels are long gone."  
"…I suppose that's good." Allen muses. "This town is too small to loose too many people."

"I was just getting used to this place." Ed sighs. "Guess I need to move on soon."  
"Oh? Where are you headed?"  
"Since all this is over, I've got another mission in Darkensburn."

"That's not too far."  
"Yeah, that's good I guess."  
"…When are you leaving?"  
"Tomorrow probably. There'll be some guys from Central to help clean up." Ed shrugs. "But I'm not really needed now the threat is gone."

Allen watches Ed silently, lost in his thoughts. His fingers have wandered back to his left arm, which he's rubbing slowly.

"…I'm hungry." Ed stands suddenly. "I'll see what Felicia's cooked up."  
"Uh, right, see you."  
"Yeah, bye."

—

Allen lays back onto the bed as the door closes slowly. He can faintly hear Ed's footsteps head back into the Inn, slowly fading to be replaced by silence.

"…Great." Allen breaths, laying his right arm over his eyes. "What should I do now?"

—

"Tomorrow?" Felicia drops Ed's lunch on the table. "You sure?"  
"Yeah, I'm sure." Ed says. "Besides, it's not like I'm leaving this place unprotected."  
"I thought you said that there wasn't any threat?"  
"There shouldn't be." Ed shrugs. "But better safe than sorry."

"Well, the earliest train in is at seven." Felicia recalls. "It heads out at eight."  
"That'll be fine." Ed decides. "I'll be out of your hair early tomorrow."

—

"You're going with him, aren't you?" Felicia stares down at Allen.  
"Uh, what makes you say that?"  
"I _know_ you, Allen." Felicia sighs. "Well, I don't know much, but I know you'll go with him."  
"…You're surprisingly perceptive, Felicia."  
"Are you?"  
"…That is the plan." Allen nods. "But he doesn't know it."  
"You're still injured." Felicia adds with a frown. "Should you really be travelling like that?"  
"I've gone in worse conditions." Allen reassures with a smile. "I'll be fine."

—

"Thanks for everything." Ed shakes Felicia's hand. "You were a big help."  
"I'm glad." Felicia smiles. "Good luck on your travels."  
"Yeah, thanks." Ed nods. "By the way, where's Allen?"  
"Went out." Felicia shrugs, almost unable to hide a smile. "He said to say goodbye."  
"Well, when you see him, tell him thanks." Ed heads to the door with a wave. "See ya."  
"Bye." Felicia waves, a smile finally appearing on her lips. "But, I think you can tell him yourself."

—

" _The train will depart in one minute._ "

Ed flinches at the high-pitched static over the intercom, accompanied by a irritating buzz.

He heads over to the waiting train, soft wisps of smoke still floating away from the tracks, mixing with the frigid air.

"Here." Ed waves his ticket in front of the conductor as he steps aboard, heading straight for his seat.

—

Ed relaxes into the seat of his annoyingly small space. The seats in front of him push against his knees and crush his bag on the floor.  
As the train finally starts moving, a few stragglers move into their seats, barely filling half of the car. The platform eventually speeds into the distance, replacing Ed's view with a seemingly endless expanse of grey-stained snow.

"Kinda depressing, isn't it?"  
Ed jumps at the sound, whirling his head around to see a figure leaning on the back of his seat.

"Allen!?"  
"Shh." Allen holds a finger to his smiling lips. "You're disturbing the other passengers."

—

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ed glares at Allen as the latter takes the empty seat beside him.  
"Moving on." Allen shrugs. "I was getting bored of such a small town."  
"Bullshit." Ed says sharply. "You wouldn't just leave. Not when you're still injured."  
"Fine, I wanted to follow you." Allen smiles. "I've always wanted a little adventure."  
"You're going to get hurt." Ed scowls. "You already did."  
"Meh." Allen shrugs. "Dangers of the trade. I'd be getting hurt anyway."  
"What kind go trade are you involved in?"  
"Underage gambling." Allen answers casually. "Theft, pickpocketing, petty revenge on those who wronged me."

"…You can't be serious."  
"I am."  
"I should arrest you."  
"Will you?"

"…Ugh, no."

—

"So, what's the plan?" Allen asks, prodding still pouting Edward.  
"I gotta find out what that guy was doing." Ed sits up. "And I already know it's no good."  
"Don't you have to report back to Central or something?"  
"Nah, I'm kind of independent. But I do have to complete any missions on the way."  
"Like you one in Darkensburn." Allen recalls.  
"Yeah." Ed leans back. "But after that, I'll continue investigating."  
"Then, can I tag along? It's no good to be doing all that alone."  
"…Do whatever you want. I can't really stop you."  
"You're very eloquent." Allen grins.  
"Shut up."

—

 **ok i kno i should be working on me other stories but i needed to get this one out of my system.**

 **let me kno if you want this continued or nah, i really enjoyed writing this, since it's one of my fav crossovers .**

 **Thanks again for reading!  
~Cheese Wizzard (•̀o•́)** **ง**


	2. Chapter 1

**6 months later.**

"Down here!" Allen jumps down the small flight of stairs and into the narrow alley way.

"Wait up!" Edward quickly follows, shouting over the gunfire behind them.  
"This is all your fault, by the way!" Allen calls behind him.  
" _My_ fault!? _You_ 're the one who started the game!"  
"And _you_ ruined it!" Allen defends. "Everything was going fine until you butted in!"

"No, that way!" Ed heads down an alley, opposite to Allen.  
"Hey!" Allen quickly changes direction to head after him.

"We're _so_ dead." Ed groans, leaping up a stairway.

"They'll probably be madder if we're caught." Allen adds.

"What did you-"

"Or when they notice their wallets gone…"  
"Allen!" Ed calls. "Are you serious!?"  
"Of course." Allen grins, pulling Ed into a side-alley, out of sight.

"Well?" Ed catches his breath.

"Well what?"  
"How much?"  
"Haven't counted." Allen smirks. "My guess is: _plenty_."  
"Then, I think it's time we skipped town." Ed says, watching their attackers run past their hiding place.

"I think that's a splendid idea."

—

"That was crazy!" Ed flops onto the park bench, swatting at the pigeons swarmed at his feet.

"And rewarding." Allen sits next to him.

"Yes, _very_ rewarding."

"We're lucky we finished the mission beforehand." Allen muses. "Or we'd be _so_ dead."  
"But we did." Ed smirks. "And we're not."

—

"What's next, then?" Allen wonders, watching Ed return from the phone booth.

"Apparently I'm headed back to Central." Ed shrugs. "Have to give my report."

"Maybe you should leave out a few things." Allen laughs. "So, you know, neither of us get arrested."

—

"…I've never been to Central." Allen realises.

"Really?" Ed raises an eyebrow. "And I thought you'd been everywhere."  
"I avoid capital cities." Allen shrugs. "Too much security."  
"You have no idea." Ed nods. "Still, it's where most shit goes down."  
"Usually I try to avoid 'shit going down'." Allen adds.  
"Is that why you're following me around?"  
"…Shut up."

—

 **22 hours later.**

"I'm tired." Ed complains, sinking into his seat and staring absentmindedly at his notebook.

"I think we're almost there." Allen says, looking outside. "We've started slowing down."  
"Really?" Ed sits up on his seat, peering through the window. "Damn."

"And here I thought you'd be excited." Allen queries.  
"Meh." Ed shrugs. "I was just getting used to… this."  
" _This_?" Allen raises an eyebrow.

"Forget it." Ed dismisses, stretching out his arms.

"If you say so."

—

 **1 hour later.**

"Let's see…" Ed quickly sweeps the platform as the two step off the train.

"Looking for someone?" Allen asks, unconsciously doing the same.

"Yeah-"

"Edward Elric!"  
Ed flinches as a _very_ large man promenades towards the two, his _very_ large muscles threatening to burst through his blue military uniform.

"That him?" Allen wonders.

"…Yeah." Ed sighs, letting the man come to them.

"I am delighted for your return, my young friend." The man poses dramatically, the implied glow almost blinding Allen.  
"You have weird friends." Allen whispers to a scowling Ed.

"Yeah, well," Ed steps towards the man. "Allen, this is Major…no, you're a Lieutenant Colonel now, right?"  
"Correct, Edward Elric!" The man happily answers.

"Well, anyway." Ed turns back to Allen. "This is _Lieutenant Colonel_ Armstrong."

"It is a pleasure, to meet you!" Armstrong declares, holding out his hand to Allen.  
"Likewise." Allen hesitantly takes the hand. "My name is Allen Walker."

—

 **Ten minutes later.**

"Are all your friends like this?" Allen wonders, eyes fixed on Armstrong, who's driving the car.

"Nah." Ed shakes his head. "I mean, most of them are nuts, but in different ways."  
"I guess I understand." Allen says quietly, almost to himself.

Ed decides to leave him alone.

—

"Brother!" A teen barrels into Ed the moment he steps out of the car, toppling them both sideways.

"Ed?" Allen watches his companion quickly recover from shock and embrace his attacker.

"Al!"

"Uh…" Allen watches the two slowly stand, 'Al' laughing sheepishly.

"How have you been!?" Al asks excitedly. "Where did you go? What happened?"  
"Let's save all that for when we're inside." A strict looking woman appears, a faint smile on her face.  
"Ah, sure thing." Al smiles, pulling Ed towards the large building in front of them. "You have to tell me _everything_."

"They move quite quickly, don't they?"  
"Hm?" Allen looks up at the woman as Armstrong chases after the two teens.  
"You get used to it though."  
"Oh, right. Yeah." Allen nods.

"You must be Allen." She says, starting towards the building will Allen following.  
"Yes, that's right." Allen says. "And you are…?"  
" _Captain_ Riza Hawkeye." She answers with a slight smile at her title.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Allen says politely, holding out his hand, which Riza grips.

"And you."

—

"Oh, Allen!" Ed speaks up as Allen and Riza enter the office. "I thought you'd gotten lost."  
"Thanks." Allen mutters, heading towards him.  
"You're Allen?" Al, who's sitting on a couch next to his brother, stands up.  
"That's right." Allen nods. "You're Alphonse."

"Ah, yeah." Alphonse says, heading towards him. "Thanks for taking care of my brother."  
"No problem." Allen smiles.  
"Don't go thanking him yet, Al." Ed calls over, drawing everyone's attention.  
"And why's that?" Al wonders.  
"Allen's gotten into as much trouble as me." Ed grins. "Combined with that front he puts up, he's probably worse."  
"And you finally admit it." Allen laughs.  
"It's the truth." Ed shrugs.

"Did I hear 'trouble'?" The door behind Allen and Riza swings open, revealing a tired looking, dark-haired man.

"No." Ed immediately says. "You need your ears checked, old man."  
"Old?" The man growls, stalking over to Ed. "Now that can't be right."  
"Oh, it seems those _old_ ears of yours do work a little." Ed smirks.

"Hey, Ed…" Al tries.  
"That's ' _Colonel Bastard_ ' I assume." Allen whispers.

"…Yeah." Al sighs. "They can never get along."

"Do you have your report?" Mustang leans back on his large chair, eyes fixed on the golden-haired teen.

"Yeah, yeah." Ed reaches into his bag and throws a small stack of paper onto the desk in front of them.

"I hope you didn't cause as much trouble this time." Mustang says warningly. "Dealing with your messes is something you need to start doing yourself."  
"Try and make me." Ed dismisses, flopping back onto the couch.

"Hmph." Mustang flips through the report before pushing it aside. "Anyway, there are some pressing matters I need to discuss with you."  
"Whatever you say, _General_." Ed condescends.

Mustang just replies in a similar tone. "Regarding your _alchemy_."

—

 **Half an hour later.**

"This sucks." Allen decides, eyes fixed on the small door in front of him.

"Allen?" Al says warily. "What are you doing?"  
"I thought I'd listen in." Allen admits casually.

"You can't!" Al immediately protests.  
"Why not?" Allen turns to him. "Nothing stopping me."  
"There's a reason Mustang took Ed into that room." Al argues. "It's probably something confidential! You could get in a lot of trouble."  
"I'm always in trouble." Allen shrugs, turning back to the side room. "Now, let's see…"

—

Ed only half listens to Mustang as he recounts everything he already knows.

"You _should_ have returned straight away." Mustang says suddenly.  
"Huh?" Ed refocuses.

"I _said,_ _"_ Mustang lets out a deep sigh. "After you regained your alchemy, you should have returned straight away."  
"I had other things to do." Ed shrugs. "Besides, there were some leads I couldn't let go cold."  
"Such as?"  
"The Akuma."

—

"If someone sees you…" Al watches Allen worriedly. The silver-haired teen is lying flat on the ground, ear next to the gap near the bottom of the door.

"No one's going to see." Allen reassures. "Besides, I'm just looking for this." Allen holds up a playing card; the ace of diamonds. "Which I dropped while showing you a card trick."  
"Huh?"

—

"And this kid you dragged back with you?" Mustang presses. "'Allen Walker' if I recall."  
"It was his idea." Ed says. "He's the one that decided he needed to follow me around."  
"I see." Mustang isn't convinced.

"Anyway," Ed sits up. "He knows more than he lets on."  
"Oh?"  
"About the Akuma, about what's really going on."  
"What makes you so sure?"  
"Just ask him."

—

"Uh oh." Allen jumps up, stepping away from the door seconds before it opens again.  
Mustang and Ed emerge, giving Allen a small glimpse of the almost completely empty room, sans the two chairs and desk.

"Is everything okay?" Al asks, watching the two.  
"Yeah." Ed nods, turning to Allen. "You're up."  
"I'm- what?" Allen looks up at Mustang.  
"I need to talk to you." Mustang explains. "Since _Fullmetal_ here won't give me any answers."  
"Good luck." Ed adds, walking away.

"Huh?" Allen looks confused.  
"Not you." Ed glances back at Mustang. "Good luck, _bastard_."

—

"So." Mustang sits across from Allen while the latter takes in the small room. It's less fancy than the office, with a drab floor, wallpaper and ceiling. The furniture is dull while and a pathetic light hangs form the ceiling.  
"Allen Walker." Mustang warily watches the boy, who seems completely distracted, staring at a spot a little to Mustang's right.

"Hm?" Allen answers with a small mutter, slowly turning to the man. "Yes?"  
"That is you right?" Mustang sighs.  
"Who?"  
" _Allen Walker._ "  
"Yes, that's me." Allen nods, putting on a quick smile as his eyes continue to wander.

"Fullmetal tells me you met about six months ago?"  
"Yes, that's right."  
"Could you tell me why you decided to go along with him?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Exactly what I said."  
"…" Allen looks down with a thoughtful expression. "I was curious."  
"Curious?"  
"About what he could find." Allen meets Mustang's eyes with a passive expression. But nothing could hide the spark of determination in his eyes.

"I see." Mustang lets out a breath. "He also tells me you're quite knowledgable."  
"Depends what you're asking about." Allen says.  
"And if I'm asking about the 'Akuma'?"  
"Then there's not much I could tell you." Allen shrugs.  
"That's different, then, from how much you know."  
"It is."  
"Then, what are you willing to tell us?"  
"What do you already know?"  
"hmph." Mustang leans back, aware of the boy's control over the conversation. "They're a product of human transmutation, a new form, it seems."  
"Yes?"  
"They're being controlled." Mustang continues. "By someone, likely their creator."  
"Not really." Allen adds.

"'Not really'?"  
"It's not one person." Allen says, breaking eyes contact. "There's about twelve of them."  
"Twelve." Mustang repeats.

"But there's only one person who makes them." Allen adds quietly.

"I see."  
"…They're half machine." Allen breathes. "But you've already figured that out."  
"Yes, well." Mustang sits up. "We know little else. They're obviously one person…combined with-"

"Two." Allen whispers.

"Excuse me?"  
"Each one." Allen explains, not raising his voice. "In each one, there's two people."

—

"I wonder what they're talking about…" Al wonders.

"Me too." Ed agrees, standing up and heading to the door.  
"Brother…"  
"What?" Ed crouches down, reaching out with his hands.

"Allen did almost the same thing." Al sighs. "He was listening through the bottom of the door.

"It's Mustang's own fault for not getting soundproof ones." Ed shrugs, letting his alchemy slowly rot away the bottom if the door. In under a second, Ed can hear the conversation perfectly.

" _How do you know all this_?"  
" _It_ _'_ _s more widely known than you_ _'_ _d think._ _"  
"_ _It is?_ _"_

" _Think about it._ _"_

"Brother…"  
"Quiet Al, I can't hear."

" _Every case involved with them…there's always an odd number of disappearances."_

" _That's it."_

" _And I assume you and Fullmetal have discovered more?"  
"Read the report."  
"…Fine. We're done for today. Thank you for your cooperation."  
"No problem."_

"Back up." Ed jumps away from the door just as it swings open, revealing a tired looking Mustang.

"Hi." Allen appears behind him, giving Ed a quick wave. "I'm sorry it wasn't very interesting."  
"What?" Mustang turns to look at Allen, who's smiling widely at Ed.

"I couldn't say anything that I hadn't told you." Allen finishes, slipping past Mustang. "It was a little pointless to listen.  
"Well, I got bored." Ed shrugs.  
"Really, Fullmetal? Listening through my door?" Mustang sighs.

Ed just shrugs again, eliciting a groan from the man.

* * *

 **So i know it's been a while but i was really sick all week, so I'm really sorry. I've started writing again, but it'll be a few more days until I get back into posting a lot more.**

 **Thanks for being patient with me and thanks for reading.**  
 **this story was a huge trek, there's about 2000 of deleted stuff because I didn't like it. Mostly plot changing stuff that i needed to change, so that's why it's taken a while.**

 **please say if it's a little weird, just because it was written over a little while it might be a little dodgy. please say, I just want the best for you without taking ages to upload.**

 **thanks for again for reading, I hope to see u soon! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ**

 **-Cheese Wizzard ("⌒∇⌒")**


	3. Chapter 2

**Yeah i'm working on this instead of all my other fics. don't judge.**

* * *

"And then Ed hit almost every step on the way down." Allen laughs.

"Oh, Brother." Al sighs, glancing over at the golden-haired teen.

"It was _one_ time." Ed scowls. "How about I tell you about all the times Allen got us lost?"  
"That's not necessary." Allen says quickly.  
"Isn't it?" Ed smirks. "How about Chantsburg?"  
"You _promised_ you'd never tell anyone."

"Since when do _either of us_ keep our promises?"  
"Whatever." Allen sighs.

"Well, I think it's good that you were together." Al smiles.

"You still think so?" Ed raises an eyebrow.

"I mean…" Al looks towards Allen. "At least you don't get in trouble alone."  
"Yeah, but our trouble doubles." Ed says before laughing.

—

Kain Fuery watches the three teens from his desk. He was honestly surprised about Edward regaining his alchemy, but it doesn't seem to have been mentioned yet.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Havoc muses, leaning over Fuery's desk.

"Uh, what is?" Fuery wonders.

"Chief's all grown up." Havoc grins. "It's weird how much he's changed in under a year."  
"Changed?" Fuery glances back towards Ed. "He seems the same."  
"Hm, maybe I'm imagining it." Havoc shrugs. "Never mind, then."

"Oi!" Ed waves to the two soldiers.  
"Hm?" Havoc saunters over. "Need something, Chief?"

"Allen wants to be introduced." Ed shrugs, turning to the silver-haired teen. "This is Lieutenant Jean Havoc."  
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Allen smiles politely, holding out his hand to shake. "My name is Allen Walker."  
"Pleasure." Jean shakes his hand, looking at Ed. "I didn't think you'd have friends this tame, Chief."  
"Don't fall for it." Ed huffs. "Allen'll trick you out of your life savings in under ten minutes. I've seen it happen."  
"Oh?" Havoc raises an eyebrow. "How'd you do that?"  
Allen smiles, pulling out a deck of cards. "Ever play poker, Lieutenant Havoc?"

—

 **Ten minutes later.**

"What the fuck!?" Havoc stares at the cards in Allen's hand, his stomach dropping to the centre of the Earth.  
"I win again." Allen smiles, sitting cross legged on the floor.

"Whoa." Fuery mutters.

"Rematch!" Havoc cries, throwing down his own cards.

"If you insist." Allen nods. "But, have you anything else to wager?"

—

 **Five minutes later.**

"What are you fools doing?" Mustang stares at the small group on the floor. Havoc is in his underwear, his clothes lying strewn around him. Allen just smiles, innocently shuffling the deck.  
"I _know_ you're cheating!" Havoc accuses. "No one is that lucky."  
"Maybe I am." Allen says. "But do you have any proof?"  
"Dammit." Havoc groans.

"Put your clothes back on, Havoc." Mustang says.  
"And you owe me two hundred dollars." Allen adds, standing up.

"You were betting money?" Mustang shakes his head.

"How was I supposed to know this would happen?" Havoc defends, throwing on his jacket.

"I _did_ warn you." Ed says. "Though, I surprised he went easy on you."  
"'Went easy' on me?" Havoc says disbelievingly.

"'Life savings' I said." Ed repeats. "You got off easy."  
"You're insane." Havoc decides. "Both of you."  
"I thought I was 'tame'." Allen says.  
"I retract everything I have ever said." Havoc says, slumping over in defeat. "Everything is a lie."

—

"Where are you staying tonight?" Hawkeye asks, watching the three teens leave.  
"I was going for a hotel." Allen shrugs glancing over at Ed and Al. "Unless there's anywhere else."

"Ed and I's room at the military dorms only has two beds." Al says.  
"It doesn't matter much." Allen smiles. "It's not like I can't afford a room."  
"Even if you didn't, you'd have it in no time." Ed sighs. "Then, We'll see you tomorrow."  
"We can meet back here." Al suggests.  
"Well, if everything's alright," Hawkeye faces the teens. "Good evening."

—

 **The next day.**

"Fullmetal." Mustang watches the teen enter. "You need to answer some questions."  
"About what?" Ed sits across from him, watching Mustang pull out his report.  
"You have no respect for military regulation." Mustang sighs. "None."  
"What'd you expect?" Ed leans back with a confident smirk.  
"And with everything here," Mustang drops the report on his desk. "There's no explanation about your alchemy."  
"We didn't find anything." Ed says with a shrug. "And trust me, we looked."

"And? What will you do now?"  
"I was planning to check the library."  
"I thought you'd read every book in there."  
"I _must_ _'_ _ve_ missed something, somewhere."  
"I'm glad you're enthusiastic. Report back if you find _anything_."  
"Yessir."

—

"Brother!" Al waves as the older teen exits the building.

"Al." Ed grins, heading over. "Just you?"  
"Allen went to explore." Al says. "He said he was bored of waiting."  
"Whatever." Ed shrugs. "Come on, I want to check the library agin."

—

"Hm." Allen slowly walks down the street, glad for the warm summer air. Unfortunatley, he was starting to sweat under his long sleeves and gloves, even with their pale colour.

Allen slips into a small cafe, the bitter scent of coffee spilling into the air. There aren't many customers, which isn't surprising for the late morning. The barista smiles at Allen momentarily as he enters. A woman sits by the window, a small coffee and plate of cake sitting untouched in front of her. She looks gloomily out the window, her dark clothes blending into the dark shade.  
"Just looking?" Allen turns back to the barista, who's leaning across the counter.  
"Oh, yes." Allen nods, eyes lingering on the woman.

"Take as much time as you need."  
Allen almost doesn't hear them, still distracted. "Right, thanks." He mutters, trying to place the familiar figure. He _knows_ she looks familiar.

"Miranda!" The barista calls over the the woman, causing her to look over slowly.  
"Yes?"  
"You need anything else? I was just about to head to the back for a minute."  
"…I'm fine. Thank you." Miranda says, turning back to her table.  
"Alright then." The barista heads away, glancing back at Allen. "I'll be back soon."  
" _Miranda_." Allen lets out the whisper, unable to contain his voice.  
"Hm?" The woman finally notices him, glancing upwards. "Yes?"  
"Nothing." Allen says quickly, turning his face away and heading to the exit. "Never mind-"

"Allen?"

—

"I'm kinda hungry." Al says suddenly, looking away from the large volume in front of him.  
"It's almost lunchtime." Ed notes, checking his silver pocket watch.  
"Oh, a cafe opened down the street." Al says, standing up. "It mostly serves coffee, but we can get something to go."  
"Alright." Ed nods, dropping a book onto the desk. "Lead the way."

—

"It's you, isn't it? Allen?" Miranda all but jumps up, stepping towards the teen.  
"…" Allen doesn't say anything, eyes fixed onto the ground. Miranda slowly moves closer.  
"W-We thought that…that…" Miranda looks to be on the verge of tears. "I-It's been al-almost a y-year." She sobs. "Everyone-"

"Sorry." Allen apologises, still avoiding her gaze. "I need to leave."

"Huh?" Miranda takes a step back. "Leave?"  
"Sorry." Allen repeats.  
"B-But…" Miranda's eyes glisten with tears. "W-What will I tell everyone?"  
"Nothing." Allen says quickly.

"Allen?" Ed and Al spot their friend in the cafe, clearly visible through the window. A dark-clothed woman seems to be talking to him. Even stranger, she's wearing a thick, black coat that just doesn't quite cover the collar of a silver uniform underneath. Ed tries to ignore the small, wooden cross around her neck.

"Huh?" Allen glances up at the two in the doorway as the woman jumps back.  
"S-Sorry!" She cries out, backing up quickly.  
"Miranda…" Allen scowls. turning to the Elrics.

"What's going on?" Ed demands, standing between Allen and Miranda. "Who are you?"  
"Ed!" Allen grabs his arm. "She's…an old friend."  
"I thought you didn't have any friends." Ed says seriously.  
"…She's an old one." Allen mutters. "Sorry."  
"Brother?" Al speaks, still in the doorway. "Maybe we should go somewhere else."

—

 **Ten minutes later.**

Allen stares gloomily at the table in front of him, refusing to speak.

"Fine." Ed sighs. "Don't say anything."  
"Brother…" Al sighs.

"Sorry." Allen murmurs.  
"You didn't answer my question." Ed says. "Who was that?"  
"I did." Allen says. "She's an old friend."  
"…Really?" Ed raises an eyebrow.

"I helped her get a job." Allen says finally. "I helped and then I left."  
"She seemed upset." Al notes. "Why was that?"

"…I didn't leave on the best terms." Allen shrugs. "Never really said goodbye."

—

Miranda sprints through the streets, ignoring the indignant cries of pedestrians behind her. She eventually finds what she's looking for: a public phone booth.

She slams the shutter behind her and slips a few coins into the slot. After punching in a few numbers and after a few rings, someone picks up.

" _Hello?_ "  
"S-Supervisor Komui!" Miranda whispers harshly, making sure no one could overhear.  
" _Miranda? Are you alright? Did something happen?_ "  
"I-I…" Miranda holds back sobs, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. "I saw Allen!"

—

* * *

 **:O**

 **Thanks for reading!** ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

 **-Cheese Wizzard**


	4. Chapter 3

**;)**

* * *

"Hm?" Mustang picks up the ringing phone, expecting another dull message or appointment in the making. But what he gets is something completely different.

"Tomorrow?"

"Don't worry. Consider it done."

—

"And through here is the shortcut back to the dorms." Al says proudly, gesturing down an alleyway.  
"Wasn't there a restaurant back here?" Ed wonders, eyes skimming the street.

"Yeah, but it closed down." Al nods. "I think it's a tailor now."

"You really haven't been here a while." Allen muses, staring up at the darkening sky.  
"Nah." Ed says. "It's been about a year."  
"Oh!" Al says suddenly. "There's somewhere else I need to show you!"

—

"What the hell?" Ed stares disbelievingly at the small building. "A 'cat shelter'?"  
"Isn't it great?" Al chirps.  
"I guess it's better that you don't pick up every stray you see." Ed says.  
"And there's this orange kitten," Al says excitedly. "That they rescued a month ago, that's _so-_ "

"Do you like cats, Al?" Allen asks.  
"I love them!" Al grins. "But Brother never lets me keep one…"  
"They're too much work!" Ed defends. "Besides, we move around a lot, it's no fair to keep abandoning it."  
"…Fine." Al sighs. "But, what is we-"

"No, Al."

—

 **The next day.**

"You two need a break." Allen says, pulling the thick book away from Ed.

"We _don_ _'_ _t_." He insists, grabbing at the book.

"No." Allen drops the book behind him. "You've been in here since six this morning. At least come get some lunch."  
"I agree." Al votes. "I'm starving."  
"Fine!" Ed groans. "But we're not taking longer than an hour, got it?"

—

"I think there's somewhere down here…" Al heads down the crowded street, the summer sun glaring down onto the masses.

"I don't even remember this street." Ed admits, looking curiously at the buildings.  
"It hasn't changed recently." Al notes. "Maybe your memory's failing Brother."  
"At least it'll never be as bad as Allen's." Ed shrugs.

"Hey!"

The following explosion comes out of nowhere. It obliterates the small shopfront, throwing nearby passersby to the sides. Others start to scream and run away, trampling each other to get away. A few trip onto the street, where the nearby cars have all pulled to a stop.

Al lowers the arms he instinctively raised to cover his face. Allen lowers his left arm and Ed continues to stare at the carnage.

"What the fuck!?" Ed jumps into a flat sprint, pushing past the fleeing public.  
"Brother!" Al rushes after him.  
"Ed! Al!" Allen isn't far behind.

—

Mustang hears the explosion from his office. He can see the smoke rising in the distance.

"Woah." Havoc stares out the window. "That isn't good."  
"Let's go." Mustang sighs, grabbing his coat as he heads to the exit. "We'll meet Fullmetal on site."

—

Ed stares at the fallen across the sidewalk. Crushed by rubble or thrown by the blast, they lit bloodied on the ground. Some are worse of than others, but there aren't any survivors. But, what catches Ed's eye is a particular corpse, it's skin dotted with spreading black stars.

"Shit."

—

Al stares up at the building, it's form crippled by the explosion. He can hear a child crying and the ring of a scream still echoes in his ears. He can see Ed a little ways away, crouching over one of the many bodies. A metallic groan draws his eyes back to the building, where something is emerging.

"Brother! Look out!"

—

Allen jogs forward as the last of the bystanders pass by. Ed and Al are not far away, but a sickening sense of dread swells in his stomach. It's thick, like syrup, and heavy, like metal. But, even worse, it's painfully familiar. As an equally familiar pain stings at his scarred left eye, his suspicions are confirmed.

"Akuma!"

—

Ed looks up at the simultaneous cries, just as the body at his feet crumbles into dust.  
The storefront is only a few meters away, giving Ed a _very_ clear view of the half metal, half man thing in front of him.

—

Al's head snaps upwards as the strange sound above them. He stares at the three figures on the rooftop, their black clothes creating almost menacing silhouettes against the bright blue sky.  
"Huh?"  
In under a second, they're on the pavement next to him, rushing towards his brother and the monster in the building.

—

Allen sees the three first and barely hesitates.

He has no other choice.  
He runs.

—

Ed scowls as the _Akuma_ jumps towards him, it's twisted form pointing it's blackened cannons in his direction.

Just as he presses his hands to the concrete, a black-cloaked figure appears in front of him. The Akuma curls back as _fire!?_ slams into it, bursting from nothing.

"What the-" Ed straightens up as the Akuma disappears back into the building.

"I got it!" Another figure appears, in similar garb, and jumps into the building. As another explosion rocks the street, a harsh cry signals the Akuma's demise.

—

Al jogs over to his brother, who's staring as the third figure approaches the other two. A sort of indignant expression appears on the eighteen-year-old's face as he watches on.

"You alright?" The nearest figure turns as Al reaches Ed. As his hood drops, Al is almost startled by the bright orange hair underneath. A bright green bandana holds it away form his face, almost perfectly matching his glittering left eye; the other being obscured by a dark eye-patch.

Al tries to ignore Ed's glare at the twenty-something year old as he smiles kindly. "Yes, we're fine, thank you."  
"That's good." The man grins. "You really shouldn't be so close to these things."  
"Ah, right." Al nods, pulling at Ed's arm. "Come _on_ Brother, we should go."

—

"That was weird." Lenalee watches the two leave, moving to stand by Lavi.  
"Yeah." Lavi agrees, turning to the wrecked building. "Damn, how'd it get so far into the city?"

"Doesn't matter." Kanda says, looking disdainfully at the wreckage. "Let's just head out."  
"…Those guys…" Lavi realises. "One of them was wearing the military uniform here."  
"Really?" Lenalee says. "I _did_ think his clothes were weird."  
"What are you talking about?" Kanda demands.  
"Oh, nothing."

—

Ed barely reaches the end of the street, when a familiar military car pulls up in front of him.  
"Fullmetal!" Mustang steps out immediately. "I didn't think you were one to walk _away_ from trouble."  
"Shut up." Ed scowls, glaring at a nearby wall.  
"What happened?" Mustang turns to Al.

"Uh, well, you see…"

—

"Hey, there's more of them." Lenalee points down the street, where half a dozen blue-clothed figures approach.  
"Well, what do you know." Lavi runs a hand through his hair. "Think they're the ones we were meant to meet up with?"  
"Seems like it." Lenalee nods.  
"Great." Kanda mutters.

"I'm sure they're fine." Lenalee smiles.

—

"That's them?" Mustang asks.  
"Yes." Al nods. "I wonder what they're doing."  
"Hm." Mustang hums as they approach.

"Yo." The red-head waves in greeting.  
"I assume you're the, ah, ' _exorcists_ _'_ I'm expecting." Mustang says professionally, not breaking eye contact.

"That's right. I'm Lavi Bookman Junior, by the way." Lavi introduces with a casual grin.

"My name is Lenalee Lee." Lenalee politely introduces before gesturing to their final companion. "And this is Yuu Kanda."  
Kanda just glares at the group before turning away disapprovingly.

"What's with the look?" Ed mutters, glaring right back.

"Relax, Brother." Al consoles.  
"We should head back to my office." Mustang proposes. "If you please."

—

Allen lets out a deep breath as he ducks into an alleyway, finally tired of running. He's made his way halfway across the city, landing him in the less friendly side of town. Luckily, this place is perfect for relaxing. Allen was never one to avoid a good game of cards.

—

 **One hour later.**

"You didn't see him go?" Ed quietly converses with Al, staying a good distance from the 'exorcists'. Honestly, Ed thought the title sounded stupid.

"I wasn't paying attention. Sorry, Brother." Al apologises.  
"It's okay." Ed shakes his head. "Allen can take care of himself."

"So we should just leave him?"  
"He'll come back when he's ready. Trust me."

—

"What's an 'exorcist' anyway?" Havoc wonders, looking at the newcomers curiously.  
"They're here to deal with our 'Akuma' problem." Mustang explains, being sure that everyone present can hear. "They're from a private organisation that deals with them."  
"I thought they were a new problem." Havoc says.  
"For us they are." Mustang nods. "But apparently they've been in a few odd countries for a long while now. Nothing yet to threaten the security of Amestris."

"Except now," Ed adds with a grimace. "They're hanging out in Central. Right under out noses."

"Well, that's why we're here to help." Lavi speaks up. "We've dealt with these things before, so you won't have to worry for much longer."

—

 **That evening.**

Mustang sighs as he sits back at his desk. Their resident exorcists had gone off to a hotel and everyone else had left soon after. The brightly lit city lights stream in through the large windows, smothering the dim light of his desk lamp.

Scanning his desk, Mustang spots Fullmetal's report in front of him. He picks it up, flicking through the pages absentmindedly.

"We arrived at Rensarm City this morning…" Mustang reads to himself, starting at a random point and trying to ignore the lack of professionalism. "The train was boring, except Allen said something really weird."  
"Hm?" Mustang stops, not remembering this particular part.

"I think he was half asleep, but he kept talking about 'the Order'? I don't get it. It's probably not important, but I'm running out of things to write about."  
"How stupid." Mustang mutters, turning to the next page and skipping a few paragraphs.

"Luckily, only one building was destroyed, which is a new record for us. Allen seemed pretty pleased. He said that he always ends up destroying at least three buildings when fighting them."  
"Fighting them?" Mustang raises an eyebrow. _"_ _The other reports say he_ _'_ _s just a civilian. How could he have fought them?_ _"_

—

 **The next day.**

"We should go look for him." Al says worryingly. "What if something happened?"  
"Yeah, I guess so." Ed slouches down on the couch, ignoring the harsh glare from Mustang.

"Something happen?" Lavi, coming out of nowhere, appears behind Ed.  
"No." Ed says quickly. 'Mind your own business."  
"If you say so." Lavi holds up his hands in surrender. "I was just asking."  
"Try _not_ to be so hostile, Fullmetal." Mustang calls over from his desk.  
"Just try and stop me, bastard." Ed bites back before turning to Al. "Come on, let's look around."

—

"That was weird." Lavi hums, turning back ot the Brigadier General.  
"Don't worry." Mustang says. "They're always like that."  
"I wonder what they were talking about." Lenalee wonders.

"It doesn't matter." Kanda dismisses.  
"Actually,: Mustang speaks up. "It _might_ have something to do with you."  
"Really?" Lavi looks thoughtful. "And how would that be?"  
"Would you perhaps know someone named _Allen Walker_?"

—

 **One hour later.**

Allen wanders through the unfamiliar streets, unable to orient himself back to the military headquarters. Just as he was giving up hope, he hears some familiar voices.

"He won't be at your cat shelter, Al!"  
"We should go check anyway…"  
"If anything, he'll be loitering in some back alley."  
"You said he gets lost easily, right Brother? Shouldn't we check everywhere we've been already?"

"Ed?" Allen turns the nearest corner and spots the two brothers.  
"Allen?" The older one tunrs to look at him. "Where the hell have you been?"  
"Around." Allen shrugs. "I'd tell you if I could, but I don't really know where I was."  
"Then, what were you doing?" Ed inquires.  
"THis/" Allen holds up a wad of bills. "I found this huge gambling club last night. I tick I outstayed my welcome though."  
"…That's a lot of money." Al stares.

"Less than I expected." Ed shrugs. "Come on, let's head back already."

"Uh, actually…" Allen says quickly.  
"What?" AL asks, watching Allen's nervous expression.

"Uh, um…" Allen desperately thinks of an excuse. "I..haven't eaten yet."  
"Seriously?" Ed raises an eyebrow.

"I've been stuck in back alleys for the last day." Allen defends. "hHere wasn't really anywhere to sit down an eat."  
"Then, I'm sure we can find a place." Al nods. "Come to think of it, we haven't had breakfast yet either."

* * *

 **ugh the spacing in this is really terrible but thats cos doc manager is stuffing up theres not much i can do sorry.  
this's been sitting on my desktop for a few days but i forgot about it so here it is now lol**

 **thanks for reading!**

 **-Cheese Wizzard**


	5. Chapter 4

**just a note - this fic is set in an AU, so the timelines aren't exactly the same. the FMA one is almost identical, but I modified DGM's to fit into the universe. Don't worry, things will be explained soon. :3**

 **also im a little iffy about this chap so please tell me what you think I'm seriously considering rewriting it completely… :|**

—

"Where do you think they went?" Lavi looks across the city from their rooftop, a refreshing light breeze letting him forget the summer heat.  
"They went of in a hurry…" Lenalee says. "It was probably something important."  
"What does it matter?" Kanda growls. "We're still on the job."  
"Yeah, yeah." Lavi shrugs. "But we can't do much until more Akuma show up, since we've got zero leads."  
"Brigadier General Mustang had a weird report on his desk." Lenalee muses.  
"You went through his desk?" Lavi raises an eyebrow at the girl.  
"It intrigued me." Lenalee explains. "It was a report, but it was open to a page about Akuma."  
"I thought they didn't know anything about them." Kanda scowls. "That's why they needed us."  
"Apparently, there's more to this then we thought." Lavi frowns.  
"Hmph." Kanda mutters. "When isn't there?"

—

"We should head back now." Al decides, looking at the sun above them. "It's already three-thirty."  
"Why should we?" Ed mutters lazily. "If we're late, all it'll do is piss the bastard off."  
"I assume that's what we want." Allen grins.  
"Only you, Brother." Al sighs.

—

 **Two hours later.**

"We're back!" Ed slams Mustang's door open, immediately heading to the nearby couches.  
"Do anything useful?" Mustang says from his desk, shuffling through some papers.

"We spent some more time at the library." Al explains. "Brother refused to return, even after we found Allen."  
"Hm." Mustang looks up at the older teen. "Did you find anything."  
"…No." Ed mutters, avoiding Mustang's gaze to stare at the ceiling."  
"Hm."  
"Where did the 'exorcists' go?" Al wonders, noticing their absence.

"They went out." Mustang sighs. "To where, though, I've no idea. They remind me of you."  
"Ah." Al awkwardly sits next to his brother.

Allen remands standing, aware of Ed and Mustang's curious gazes. He's currently weighing his options. He wonders if they know that he's here… If Miranda told anyone, which is likely, then probably. He could leave now and avoid them once they return here, or he could face them again… the first option is way more appealing…

"Sit, Walker." Mustang says, gesturing to the couch opposite Ed and Al. "You don't stand while having an epiphany or whatever's going on."  
"…" Allen silently sits down, eyes nervously darting to the clock against the nearby wall.

"Are you okay, Allen?" Al asks worriedly, eyeing the teen cautiously.  
"…m'fine." Allen shakes his head, "Don't worry."  
"For someone who's usually good at lying, you're doing a pretty shit job right now." Ed adds, looking down at them.  
"…Thanks." Allen mutters.

"So?" Ed leans forward. "What's going on?"  
"Is it about the 'exorcists'?" Al asks. "Just- Just because you disappeared when they turned up. Do you know them?"  
After a hesitant pause, Allen slowly nods.  
"Great." Ed relaxes. "How?"

"Brother!" Al reprimands. "Don't be so forceful."  
"It's okay." Allen says. "It's, uh, it's a long story."

—

"This hotel is shit." Kanda decides, glaring at the cramped room.  
"Don't be so prickly." Lavi grins. "It's _fine_."  
Kanda just scoffs and sits on a small armchair, letting Lavi wander around.

Then, there's a sharp knock on the door.

"Hm?" Lavi heads over, cautiously opening the door.  
"Hello." An old woman in a large apron greets Lavi. "There's a phone call for you, in the lobby."

—

"Hello?" Lavi speaks into the phone, still apprehensive.  
" _Lavi?_ " Komui's voice immediately calms him.  
"Yeah? What's up?"  
" _You haven't reported since you arrived._ "  
"Oh, sorry."

" _That doesn't really matter, but I have important news._ "  
"News?"  
" _Miranda reported a couple days ago._ " Komui explains. " _I tried to contact you right away, but you were still in transit._ "  
"And?"  
" _Miranda said…_ " Komui takes a deep breath. " _That she saw Allen._ "

—

"You worked with them?" Ed sounds disbelieving.  
"Like, in their organisation?" Al recalls.  
"Yes, just for a year." Allen nods. "But, I had to leave suddenly."  
"Why?" Ed asks.  
"…" Allen shakes his head, refusing to say anymore.  
"Thank you." Al smiles, slightly surprising the silver-haired teen. "For telling us."  
"Oh." Allen nods. "I probably should have told you earlier."  
"Is that how you knew so much about the Akuma?" Mustang calls over, having been listening in the whole time.

"..Kind of?" Allen shrugs, a small smile creeping onto his face.

—

"Are you serious!?" Lenalee cries as she, Kanda and Lavi rush towards the military headquarters. The grey building looms above them, inching closer and closer as they rush over the rooftops.

"That's what Komui said!" Lavi calls behind him.  
"Why are we heading back here!?" Kanda demands.

"They can keep an eye out for him!" Lavi replies. "If he's here, the military can help us find him!"  
"What if he doesn't want to be found!?" Lenalee shouts.  
"Unfortunatley, we're out of options. We need him."

—

"There they are." Ed says suddenly from his spot staring out the window.  
"'They'?" Allen heads over, peering through the glass.

Not far away, three black figures run over the buildings, heading straight for them.  
"Think they'll use the front door?" Ed grins.

"They have before." Al says.  
"They look really intense." Ed muses, watching them come closer.

"Maybe they'll just come through the window." Allen mutters. "It wouldn't be the first time."  
Ed jumps away from the window. "What!?"

—

"We should have just gone through the window." Kanda mutters as the three jog up the stairs.

"So we have to pay for repair?" Lenalee shakes her head. "We can't be rude to these people, it's their country after all."

—

The door slams open with a sound like a gunshot. Allen can't help but flinch as all heads turn to the sound's source.  
"They're as bad as you Fullmetal." Mustang says.

"Uh…" Al awkwardly watches the exorcists.

"…Allen?" Lavi immediately recognises the teen.

"Hey, Lavi." Allen forces a grin. "It's been while, huh?"

—

"Will they be okay?" Al watches the door close to the side room, leaving Ed, Mustang and him in the office.  
"Of course." Ed shrugs as he crouches by the door and holds out his hands.  
"Brother! Not again!"

—

"Have you been here the whole time?" Lavi sits across from Allen, Kanda and Lenalee on his left and right respectively.

"No." Allen shakes his head. "I've tried to keep moving."  
"Why?" Lenalee asks sadly. "We could've helped you."  
"Not if _they_ had anything to say about it." Allen mutters.  
"Like we'd care!" Lenalee cries. "We're your friends, we'd so anything to help you…"  
"I know." Allen sighs. "I didn't want you to get in the same mess as me."  
"We're always in a mess." Kanda scowls. "Our lives are just big messes, stupid beansprout."  
"…Thanks?" Allen allows himself a laugh.  
"As eloquent as that was…" Lavi smiles. "It's pretty true."  
"So?" Lenalee smiles and takes Allen's hand. "Will you let us help you now?"

—

"Oh, and I need to tell you about the mission to the middle of the ocean!" Lavi laughs loudly. "All the Finders got sea sick and-"  
"Can you shut up for one minute? Or my ears might start bleeding." Kanda growls.  
"I have the voice of an angel, thank you very much." Lavi scoffs.  
"Don't start arguing." Lenalee threatens. "Or else."  
"It seems you haven't lost your control over them." Allen laughs.  
"Hey, I'm not under the control over anyone-"

"Shush."  
"…Like I said."

Even as the door swung open, the conversation continued, making for a very confused Ed, Al and Mustang.

"Uh…" Ed marvels at the surprisingly friendly atmosphere that had developed between the four, despite the harsh glares on the side of one.

"I assume things went well." Mustang says.

"Is everything okay now?" Al wonders.

Ed just shrugs. "I don't really know."

—

 **A few hours later.**

"Oh, shit." Lavi swears at the clock on the nearby wall. "I said that I'd call Komui back."  
"Should we tell him?" Lenalee glances over to Allen.  
"…Probably." Lavi sighs. "But we can't let anyone else know."  
"And why's that?" Mustang chimes in, one eyebrow raised.

"Unfortunately," Lavi scowls. "The Order isn't very fond of Allen."  
"Yes?" Mustang presses.  
"It's a long story." Lavi continues, slightly defensive. "But it doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Is that so?"

—

"I guess…" Allen stands in the doorway. "I'll see you tomorrow?"  
"Definitely." Lenalee smiles. "We still have a lot to talk about."  
"We'll be here tomorrow." Lavi grins. "Try not to go anywhere."  
"I'll try." Allen laughs.  
"Let's just get going." Kanda mutters. "The sprout isn't smart enough to run away again."

—

 **thanks a lot for reading!**

 **i accept ideas/suggestions for any of my stories especially ones i haven't posted in a while. I'm kinda stuck with this one and a few others so i might slow down for a bit.  
i appreciate all your support and words of ****encouragement!**

 **-Love from Cheese Wizzard** （´・｀ ）


	6. Chapter 5

**Im sorry this took so long, but exams are over and my holidays have begun, so i'll be writing a lot more for you guys!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Allen heads up the twilit street, piercingly aware of the lack of people. The evening had just begun, meaning that there _should_ still be people up and about. Allen just sighs and, while swallowing any shred of doubt or foreboding, continues down the street.

Unfortunatley, that was the first mistake.

—

 **The next morning: 7:30 am.**

"Morning." Lavi casually enters Mustang's office, slouching down on one of the couches.  
"You're alone." Mustang notices, looking up slightly.

"I'm just waiting for Allen." Lavi shrugs. "We forgot to tell him where we were staying, so I think he'll turn up here."  
"Hmm." Mustang turns back to his papers, letting an semi-awkward silence settle.

—

"We're early." Al stares up at the large military building.  
"Are we?" Ed continues forward, disinterested.

"Everyone usually arrives around eight." Al continues, trailing after his brother. "But Mustang comes in at seven every morning."  
"Great."

—

The two eventually arrive at Mustang's rather large office. Ed slams the door open and yells out a rather rude greeting over Al's apology.

"Yo." Lavi waves at them from his spot on the couch.

"You're alone." Ed notices.  
"I'm waiting for Allen." Lavi says.

"Whatever." Ed turns to Mustang. "I'm going to the library."  
"You are?" Mustang looks up uninterested. "Why are you here, then?"  
"…I wanted to talk to Allen." Ed admits. "But if he's not here, I'll come back later."  
"I'll tell him you wanted to talk." Lavi suggests. "When he turns up."  
"…Sure." Ed shrugs and turns to the door. "Al, let's go."  
"Okay, Brother." Al glances over to Mustang. "Sorry for intruding."

—

Allen peers over the lobby desk, trying to find any signs of life. The hotel had been deadly quiet since he'd gotten back, something he'd immediately associated with danger. It couldn't possibly be an Akuma, they were far to loud. Unless it were a higher level… but even so, they would have made some indication of their presence. Regardless, Allen would have been able to tell…

"Hello?" Allen awkwardly calls towards the back room. "Is anyone in there?"  
After a few second of silence, Allen decides to head inside. No one would ever know, right?

That was the second mistake.

The door swings open easily. It hadn't been locked. Inside is pitch black, leaving Allen to fumble for a light switch. He grips a small handle and gives it a tug.

The room is immediately illuminated in a deep, red light.  
"Red?" Allen looks up immediately and his blood runs cold.  
A light hangs from the ceiling, flickering with light. Its glass surface is dripping in…red. Allen's gaze moves downwards and he starts to feel his hands shake.

On the bright side, he's figured out where everyone went.

On the other hand, it was in that moment that everything went black.

—

 **Half an hour later.**

Lavi scowls at the clock on the wall, one hand drumming his fingers as the other is clenched into a fist.

"What will you do?"

Lavi looks up to see Mustang watching him carefully.  
"…I don't know." Lavi sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I guess I should try looking for him."  
"You guess?" Mustang raises and eyebrow.  
"If he turns up, tell him we're looking for him." Lavi stands up and heads to the exit, the sickening apprehension swelling in his gut.

—

Allen groggily opens his eyes, trying to regain his bearings. He's lying on the floor and there's a dull pain in his skull. Someone hit him. Additionally, Allen then realises, there's a sharp sting in his stomach. Slowly reaching down to the source, Allen's hand touches something warm and sticky pouring from his wound.  
"Fuck." Allen quietly swears as he tries to assess the damage.

"Good morning!"  
Allen jolts a the sudden voice. It came from behind him, completely out of sight.

"Oh, sorry!"  
After a few hurried footsteps, a figure appears in Allen's line of vision. Well, their shoes at least.

"Hm? Did I hit you too hard?" The almost childish giggle throws Allen off. The figure slowly crouches down in front of him, just as he raises his gaze.

"…Road?"

—

"Hey!" Lavi spots his fellow exorcists wandering down the street and waves to them.  
"Lavi?" Lenalee spots him first, just as he's coming to a stop in front of them. "Where's Allen?"  
"Didn't show up." Lavi scowls.

"Do you think something's happened?" Lenalee's face contorts with worry.  
"He probably got lost or something." Lavi shakes his head. "But we should go look for him."

"Where do we look?" Lenalee wonders.  
"I know where his hotel is." Lavi answers. "It's only ten minutes walk away from here. Let's start there."

—

"Did you miss me, Allen?" Road giggles ecstatically, running a large knife over her fingers.  
"Road." Allen blinks away the dark spots across his vision. "W-What did you do?"  
"I got bored." Road laughs, straightening up. "I thought you'd appreciate it."  
"Appreciate?" Allen pushes himself up, ignoring the pain in his joints and stomach. "Why would I-"

"You don't like it?" Road frowns. "How mean."

—

 **Ten minutes later.**

"Hello?" Lavi peers around the large lobby, which is worryingly quiet. "This looks bad."

"What could have happened?" Lenalee wonders.  
"Maybe they all went to lunch?" Lavi suggests, trying for a smile.

"It's quarter past eight." Kanda points out. "There should be people here."  
"Hm…" Lavi wanders over to the marble lobby desk.  
He reaches out and dings the small bell on the counter, ignoring the shape glare from Kanda's direction.  
"No one…" Lavi looks around again, spotting a small door not far away. "Staff only? That sounds like an invitation."  
Strolling over to the door, Lavi beckons to the others.

—

Lavi's stomach drops as he stares into the room. It's relatively small, definitely not meant to house to dozen or so bodies strewn across the floor. In various states of disarray, the form lies in pieces large and small over a layer of drying blood. The flickering light is almost completely dimmed by the sprayed blood, which has also made it's way across the walls.  
"Shit." Kanda's soft swear breaks the silence. Lavi swallows down any threatening bile as he scans the broken bodies in front of them.  
"…Allen isn't here." Lavi lets out a breath and steps away from the room.  
"Then…" Lenalee looks around nervously. "Where is he?"

"Let's keep looking." Lavi closes the door, shoving the image into the deep recesses of his mind.

That was the third mistake. If only he'd taken a close look, he'd've spotted the bloody transmutation circle under all that mess.

—

"Sorry!" Road's voice jolts Allen to life, a newfound pain on the back of his skull.  
"Y-You…" Allen swallows and shakes his head.  
"What is it?" Road bends over in front of him.  
"You…hit me again." Allen grimaces as he lifts his head upwards.  
"Of course!" Road laughs violently. "Couldn't let you see where we were goin'."  
"Where are we?" Allen looks around the almost pitch black room.  
"Not telling!" Road cackles. "That'd give everything away!"  
"What?" Allen spots the chair his sitting on and tests the ropes tying him down. No luck.  
"You didn't think I _wanted_ to hurt you, Allen?" Road pouts. "I'm just trying to get your friends, that's all."

"My friends?"

—

"What now?" Lavi wanders back into the middle of the lobby.

"We'll take another look around." Lenalee says. "There must be _something_ here."

It takes another few minutes, but Kanda finds a suspicious bulge under the carpet. Pulling out his sword, he easily slices throw the fabric, revealing a wooden trapdoor underneath.

—

"Hm?" Road stops suddenly, laying a finger on her lips as she stares above them.  
Allen mimics here, looking up into the expanse of darkness.  
After a few seconds, a few muffled whispers join them.

" _That doesn't look safe._ "  
"Lavi?" Allen immediately recognises the voice.

" _Just go!_ " Lenalee's voice harshly whispers.

"Where are they?" Allen whispers to himself, looking around his restricted range of vision.

"Doesn't matter." Road grins. "They'll be here soon."

—

"Shouldn't we get some help?" Lavi looks back at the trap door behind them. "You know, just in case?"  
"We might not have that much time." Lenalee shakes her head.  
"Wait a second…" Lavi stops and rummages through his pockets.  
"What now?" Kanda scowls, glaring at the red-head.  
"Here!" Lavi pulls out a black orb.  
"A golem?" Lenalee recognises the object.

"I'll send it to our Amestrian friends." Lavi cheerfully explains, letting the golem stretch out its wings.

"If you think we should." Lenalee nods. "But be quick."

—

"Now, we can't have that." Road frowns, muttering to herself. "Hm, I'll just send some Akuma after it, I won't have anyone interfering now."

—

"Okay." Lavi grins as the black golem flies off, complete with a recorded message.  
"Let's get going, then." Lenalee persists. "We need to hurry."  
"I got it." Lavi jogs ahead, letting the other two match his speed. "We're coming Allen!"

—

"This is going nowhere!" Ed angrily exclaims, resisting the urge to throw his book across the room.  
"Maybe we should take a break, Brother." Al suggests, hoping to pacify his raging brother.  
"Hmph." Ed scowls, pushing his books out the way.  
"It's not quite time for lunch yet…" Al says thoughtfully.  
"Well maybe-"

Ed is cut off by loud explosion _way_ too close.  
"What!?" Al jumps up.

The adjacent bookcase then flies away with another explosion. As the shelf disappears to the right, a _huge_ Akuma is revealed behind it. The Akuma is a pulsing and shaking mess off various pumps and gears swirling over the red and deformed flesh. Violent screams tear from it's various gaping holes, dripping its red oil over the floor. Blue, oxygen deprived hands reach out to the air, swiping at… _something_ in front of it.  
"Brother!?" Al turns towards Ed, at a complete loss.  
"Uh…" Ed glances over at his brother, only for something to hit him on the head.  
"Look out!" Al cries out, pulling Ed towards him just as the Akuma's abnormally large hands slam down behind him.  
"Let's get out of here!" Ed shouts, bee-lining for the exit.

As the two jump out of the building, the Akuma smashed through the undersized door behind them. Pedestrians scream and run away, but the Akuma seems too interested in the two alchemists to notice.  
It brings its white, demon-like mask of a face downwards to stare just above Ed's head.  
"What?" Ed looks up, following its gaze.  
Hovering just above him is a small… ball? A pair of bat like wings flap nervously as its large black-and-white eye flitters around.

"What's that?" Al reaches out to the thing, cupping it in his hands.  
"I don't know." Ed scowls, glaring at the Akuma. "But we should take care of this thing first."

—

"Ugh." Lavi stares down the thin, rickety staircase in front of him. "Ladies first?"  
"Just go." Kanda growls, roughly pushing the Lavi forward.  
"Hey!" Lavi trips down the first few steps before regaining his balance. "I can't see where I'm going!"  
"Then start going." Kanda says. "Go."

—

"They're almost here!" Road giggles, her hands playing with a sharpened wax candle."  
Allen doesn't reply, instead he continues to scratch away at his rope bindings with his nails. With his hands bound, he can't even try out his limited knowledge of alchemy, not to mention anything else…

—

" _Hi!_ " Lavi's loud and _sudden_ voice almost causes Al to drop the golem in shock.  
"What the hell was that?" Ed turns away from the Akuma to look at Al.  
"I don't know!" Al quickly replies, letting his brother get back to dealing with the Akuma.

" _Um, I hope you've gotten this! Anyway, we kind of need some help? Maybe? Oh, this is my personal golem, by the way. Anyway, we're underneath Allen's hotel right now, and, well, things aren't really going as planned. We would- uh, I would appreciate any back up? Yeah? Also, if you do decide to help out, I advise against opening the door behind the receptionist desk? Yeah, there's an open trapdoor in the middle of the floor, we're through there. Uh, okay, thanks!_ "  
"Uh…" Al looks up to the Akuma and a very frustrated Ed. "I think I have an idea."

—

The three exorcists eventually reach the bottom of the stairs, where a large checkered door awaits them. Light leaks from under the door, illuminating the stone floor and walls around them.  
"Ready?" Lavi glances over to his companions as one hand grips the glistening, golden handle…

—

The door easily swings open, revealing the two figures inside.  
"Hiya!" A girl consumes Lavi's vision, appearing right in front of him.

"Ah!" Lavi steps back in surprise.  
The girls just laughs, jumping away from him. Lavi stares blankly at her over-the-top coloured dress and spiky hair. He watches curiously and nervously as she bites down on an oversized lollipop, shattering into multicoloured pieces. As she grins with her shark-like teeth, a shiver runs down Lavi's spine.

"Lavi?"

—

"Where are we going!?" Ed angrily calls after his brother, who's running ahead of him.

"Trust me!" Al calls back, darting around a corner into another alleyway.  
"This is a bad idea!" Ed protests, completely aware of the Akuma ploughing a path behind them. "It's catching up!"

"We're almost there!" Al reassures, continuing forward.

"We better be!"

—

"Allen?" Lavi finally spots the teen not far off. He's bound to a chair by thick rope, slowly being stained by the blood leaking from his stomach. A small trail of blood runs down the side of his face, its source somewhere under Allen's red-stained hair.  
"Wait-" Lavi's head whips back to the girl, who's already charging at him with a _candle?_

"Woah!" Lavi jumps back, barely avoiding her.  
"Aw!" The girls pouts, glancing over at Allen. "Allen! You ruined my fun!"  
"Guys!" Allen just turns to his friends. "Be careful! She's dangerous!"  
"I noticed." Lavi scowls, lifting his hammer.  
"Who are you!?" Lenalee demands, moving into a battle stance.

"My name's Road." Road giggles childishly. "Don't worry, I already know you you are."

—

"Isn't this-" Ed recognises the hotel immediately, watching as Al runs inside.  
"Come on!"  
"Why are we here!?" Ed demands, slipping through the entrance.  
"Um…" Al looks around frantically before rushing over to the open trapdoor nearby. "Get in!"  
"Get in!?" Ed says disbelievingly. "You can't be-"

The Akuma crashes through the wall where the door had been and quickly approaches the brothers.  
"I'm coming!" Ed jumps through the door and continues down the hallway after his brother.

—

"Shit." Lavi grips his right arm tight, trying to stop the blood flowing from the deep wound.  
Allen watches on fearfully as Road easily dodges the exorcists' attacks, laughing playfully. "Catch me if you can!"  
"Lavi!" Lenalee lands next to the red-head. "Are you okay?"  
"Fine." Lavi shakes his head. "Keep her busy, I'll get Allen."

Lavi jogs over to the teen, only for Road to jump in front of him. "Nope!"  
"Fuck." Lavi swears and backs up, hefting his hammer in his free hand.

"You're kind of fun, you know." Road grins. "I'm glad I got to be the one to _kill you_!"

—

The explosion throws Road so fast, Lavi could barely catch her shocked expression. The room quickly crumples as a _giant_ Akuma smashes through the walls and roof. As sunlight streams through the gap, Ed and Al appear from behind the Akuma, looking equally shocked.  
"Huh?" Ed stares at the scene while Al breathes a sigh of relief.  
"Oh, it's you!" Lavi smiles an exhausted grin as he lowers his weapon. "I guess you got my message."  
"Yup!" Al holds up the traumatised golem before throwing to to Lavi.  
"Where'd she go?" Lenalee looks around. "Road, I mean?"  
"Who's that?" Ed asks, also glancing around. "What is this place anyway?"

"You…" Road's beaten and bloody form reappears, torn in several places and spouting multiple fatal wounds; she glares at the assorted group.  
"What the fuck?" Ed stares at the girl.  
"How dare you!" Road cries out angrily, marching forward. "You- I'll kill you!"  
"Wait, where's Allen?" Lenalee whispers to Lavi nervously, spotting the empty chair and broken ropes.  
"Hopefully somewhere safe." Lavi scowls and raises his weapon, ignoring the resulting pain.

"Ha!" Road lunges forward. The group prepare to defend…but they're _too slow-_

"Ahhhh!" Road is slammed into the ground with an inhuman cry.  
"Allen!" Ed stares as Allen stands atop Road, one foot firmly pressed onto her skull.  
"A-Allen!" Road growls into the floor, desperately clawing at the stone.  
"Don't. Hurt. My. Friends!" Allen presses his hands against Road's fallen form. And, with a flash of bright green light, she fades to ash.

* * *

 **I would have uploaded earlier with a shorter chap, but i wanted to finish this bit, rather than splitting it in two really short bits. :)**

 **Please tell me if there's any continuity or spelling errors, i appreciate it a lot!**

 **thanks again for reading!**

 **-CheeseWizzard** (*^▽^*)


	7. Chapter 6

Mustang and his crew arrive at the scene just a few minutes later. It was a interesting sight, seeing six teens scattered in a giant crater where a building once stood. A vaguely humanoid shaped pile of ashes sit in almost the very centre, right next to an exhausted looking Allen.  
"What the fuck Fullmetal?" Mustang drops down with them and turns on Ed.  
"Wasn't my fault." Ed mutters. "But we found Allen."  
"I can see that." Mustang shakes his head. "What the hell happened?"

—

 **Ten minutes later.**

"This is another great mess you've gotten yourselves into." Mustang rubs his temples as he turns to the exorcists. "You have a bit more explaining to do."

"Yeah, we know." Lavi glances at Road's remains.  
"Ugh." Allen pushes himself up, only then remembering the the wound in his stomach. "Shit."

"Allen!" Ed notices first and calls out.  
"I gotcha'." Lavi slings the younger teen's arm over his shoulders, steadying him.  
"Is anyone else injured?" Riza calls out to the teens.  
"Nah, we're good." Lavi answers.

"Then, let's get you all out of here." Mustang orders.

—

 **A few hours later.**

"Don't exert yourself unnecessarily." The nurse chastises. "You'll reopen your wounds."  
"I won't. Thank you." Allen nods.  
"Good." The nurse steps away from his bed and heads off, leaving him alone.

Allen sinks back into bed, one hand over his bandaged stomach. He wonders what everyone else is doing. Mustang and his team are probably interrogating his friends. In fact, they'll probably be here to see him soon.

"Hello?" A sharp knock confirms Allen's suspicions.  
The door swings open to reveal the black-haired man and his gun-slinging associate, with Lavi, Lenalee, and Kanda in tow.  
"Yo!" Lavi cheerily greets him with a wave.

"Are you feeling better, Allen?" Lenalee asks worriedly, heading over.  
"Fine." Allen smiles. "Perfectly. It won't take long to heal."

"Nice!" Lavi swings around the other side of the bed, getting comfortable.

"We won't be here long." Mustang clears his throat. "But I needed to clarify some things."

—

"A girl was spotted with you." Mustang starts, holding a small notebook and pen. "Your attacker."  
"Oh, yes." Allen nods. "That was her."  
"Did she give any reasoning?" Mustang questions. "Your friends suggested that you were already acquainted."  
"Yeah." Allen glances over at them. "She's… We have history."  
"Care to elaborate?" Mustang presses.

"…" Lenalee looks over at Kanda and Lavi, who both shrugs unhelpfully.  
"We should tell them." Allen tries. "We're allies now."  
"…okay." Lenalee takes a deep breath. "She's part of a group, a pseudo 'family'." She explains. "Who happen to be responsible for the production and management of the Akuma."

"I see." Mustang scribbles something down.  
"She's also a psycho." Lavi adds.

"She's the one who killed the hotel staff?" Hawkeye asks.  
"…Yes." Lenalee nods. "That'd be her."

"I doubt she's a child, then, regardless of her appearance."  
"That's right." Lenalee confirms. "We're not exactly sure, but she's at least forty."

"Forty?" Hawkeye looks surprised.

"At least." Lavi repeats.

"So, she meant to… lure you out." Mustang clarifies. "Using Mr Walker?"  
"Seems like it." Lavi looks over to Allen.  
"That's what she said." Allen nods.  
"I see." Mustang sighs. "Then, I think that's about everything."

"Oh!" Allen remembers suddenly. "There's one thing I wanted to ask."  
"What is it?" Hawkeye turns to him.  
"About the circle." Allen says.  
"Circle?" Mustang turns.

"The one in the, uh, staff room? Behind the lobby desk." Allen explains. "I'm pretty sure I saw one before Road knocked me out."  
"Are you sure?" Hawkeye asks, suddenly alert.

"Uh, yes?" Allen looks confused. "Wasn't there one?"  
"Riza." Mustang turns to her.  
"I'll check." She exits swiftly.

—

It's barely a minute of tense waiting later that she returns. She slams the doors open at a run.  
"It's urgent."  
"What is it?"  
"I think we found out what the circle does." Hawkeye scowls. "We need all the exorcists down there."  
"How many?" Lenalee jumps up.  
"Over a dozen." Hawkeye scowls.  
Lenalee turns to the boys, who are on their feet, sans Allen. "Let's go!"

—

"Shit." Lavi is the first to land, immediately taking in the destroyed block. Akuma fly above their heads, terrorising anyone nearby.  
"Split up!" Lenalee orders, barely slowly down. "Find all of them!"

—

"What's the rush?" Ed slips into the hospital room just as Mustang and Hawkeye speed away.  
"Akuma." Allen says. "Back at the hotel."  
"Oh." Ed sits next to his bed. "I… I guess we should leave it to the professionals."  
"…That's surprisingly mature of you." Allen notes.

"Shut up!" Ed scowls.

"Big Brother's a little mad." Al explains. "Mustang lectured him about fighting Akuma. He said to leave it up to your friends."  
"Oh." Allen looks over at him. "That's surprisingly immature."  
"Hey!" Ed defends. "What does that mean?"  
"I'm glad you came to help, honestly." Allen says quickly. "But Akuma are dangerous if you don't know what you're dealing with."  
"Then tell me." Ed rebuts.  
"What?" Allen's taken aback.  
"You know about them too, right?" Ed says. "So, tell me about them. I can't stand not knowing!"  
"…Um…" Allen looks over at Al.  
"It _would_ be useful." Al says. "In case something happens again."  
"And knowing out luck, it will." Ed says. "So?"  
"… Fine." Allen sighs.  
"Yes!" Ed pumps a fist into the air.

Allen laughs. "Only you would be this excited about learning."

—

 **Ten minutes later.**

"How'd they make 'em?" Lavi says suddenly.  
"What?" Kanda looks at him like he's an idiot. "You _know_ how they're made."  
"Not like that." Lavi waves his hand. "Like, they were all dead, right?"  
"…Oh, I get it." Lenalee nods. "That means… someone had to die."  
"More than one." Kanda adds.  
"…Probably the military investigators." Lenalee says. "They'd be the only people in the building."  
"And who activated the circle?" Lavi asks. "It can't've been Road, she's toast."

"Then…" Lenalee's eyes widen. "There's another one here."

—

"Jeez, Road." A man crouches down by the pile of ashes. "What a mess."  
"Hey!" A high-pitched voice calls out in response. "That's mean, Tyki."  
"I know." Tyki reaches into the ashes. "That's why I said it."  
"Hmph." Tyki pulls out the tiny doll, complete with a bright red ribbon around its waist. "Meanie Tyki!"  
"Don't be so childish. "Tyki drops the doll onto his shoulder. "Now, let's go before Sheryl has another fit."

"Don't you want to go see the exorcists?" Road asks.  
"Hm. I'll say hi on the way out."

—

"Empty." Lenalee looks around the ruined hotel, the floor all but caved in and walls all but vacant.  
"Looks like they all got it." Lavi grimly kicks an evidence bag out of the way.  
"Che." Kanda glances into the underground pit, where Road had been defeated. "Probably ran off."  
"…I guess so." Lenalee moves to leave.

"Aw, I'm glad you think so highly of me." Tyki appears behind the lobby desk, leaning casually across the surface.

"You!" Lavi reaches for his hammer.  
"No need to be so aggressive." Tyki says. "Just saying hello."  
"Yeah, right." Kanda raises his sword.  
"Hm." Tyki shrugs. "If you really want to play, I'm not one to refuse an invitation."  
"Play?" Lenalee tenses.  
"If you insist." Tyki grins and then, he's gone.

"Huh?" Lavi relaxes slightly. "Where'd he go?"

"…Allen." Lenalee says. "We need to get back to the hospital."

—

"Then, they can shoot bullet-like things from the cannons." Allen continues. "The can really vary in size, though."

"Got it." Ed scribbles onto a complicated looking diagram.

"Thanks for helping us, Allen." Al says.  
"I couldn't say no." Allen smiles. "Besides you're right. And, it's probably time I let a few secrets go."

"How sweet." Tyki appears in the window, directly in Al's line of vision.  
"Uh…" He looks over at Ed. "Big Brother?"  
"What the hell?" Ed looks at Tyki. "Who the fuck are you?"  
"…Tyki?" Allen looks confused. "What are you doing here?"  
"Saying hello." Tyki smirks. "Hello."  
"A friend of yours?" Ed looks over at Allen.  
"Not at all." Allen says.  
"Hi!" Road's shrill voice enters the mix as she reappears out of Tyki's pocket.  
"Road?" Allen doesn't seem that surprised. "You're already back?"  
"Yeah." Road says. "But it was mean of you, you almost charred my ribbon!" She holds her ribbon up for emphasis.  
"Wait, 'Road'?" Ed stares. "There aren't more than one are there? And why's this one a… doll?"  
"Oh, don't be like that." Road pouts. "Don't act like you haven't seen souls in other things."  
"You-" Ed scowls.  
"Go away, Tyki." Allen interjects.  
"…Fine." Tyki shrugs. "Since I'm off the job, I won't do anything."  
"Bye bye Allen!" Road waves goodbye.  
"…Goodbye, Road." Allen looks away.

The two disappear, after passing back through the _solid wall_ and out _three stories off the ground_.

"…I can't be the only one seeing this." Ed glances desperately at Al and Allen. "I'm not crazy am I?"  
"Not at all, Big Brother."

"I wouldn't go that far." Allen shrugs.  
"How is that possible!?" Ed jumps up and runs to the wall. "It's solid! And there wasn't any visible displacement, not to mention no transmutation circles…"  
"Do you know?" Al turns to Allen.  
"No, sorry." Allen shakes his head. "It's a mystery to me."

—

 **OKAY THEN**

 **Thanks Stephanie 0304,** **momo167 and Coolc341 for telling me about the problem!  
I'm so sorry I have no idea what happened :\**

 **uh yeah, but my last AN (Which has mysteriously vanished) said that this chap just wanted to tie things together and kind of show how everyone interacts/ relationships with each other ;|  
this is kind of ****embarrassing -.-**

 **-Cheese Wizzard :p**


	8. Chapter 7

p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongbefore this starts, it's been a little while and i'm kind of out of it, so PLEASE tell me about any continuity errors, I always mess stuff like that up, since it's hard to keep track of everything sometimes -.- also say if there's any major typos and stuff, I really appreciate the help!/strong/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strong-/strong/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""How many are there?" Mustang looks at Lavi from across his /"How many?"br /"You said there was a group of people who are the ones making the Akuma." Mustang explains. "How many are there?"br /"Oh, that." Lavi starts counting on his fingers. "At least ten, probably more."br /"I see." Mustang takes a deep breath. "Are all as dangerous as the ones we've seen?"br /"Yup." Lavi answers. "I mean, you say 'people', but that isn't the word I'd use."br /"And what word would you use?" Mustang /"I couldn't think of one." Lavi shrugs. "But they definitely aren't human."br /"Splendid." Mustang /"Oh, there is something." Lavi remembers. "They like talking about themselves, see? They call themselves… the Noah."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"—/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""What now?" Hawkeye looks over at /"Even with the annoying lack of information," Mustang rubs his temples. "It seems we're slightly outmatched."br /"Slightly?"br /"I'm not making too many judgements at this point." Mustang says. "There are still too many mysteries and factors at play. We need to stay alert."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"—/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Ugh!" Ed slumps onto the /"Are you still on about Tyki?" Allen looks down at him from his /"It's impossible!" Ed insists, tilting his head just enough to look at Allen. "How is it possible!?"br /"Well, you won't find your answer on the floor." Allen says. "Maybe you should have gone with Al for lunch."br /"He'll bring something back." Ed lies his face back onto the /"That's not the point." Allen says with a huff. "I've no choice but to stay here, but you should at least try to get some air."br /"Uh, no." Ed's voice is muffled against the floor. "Nothing makes sense and I need answers."br /"Like I said-"br /"Allen!" The door slams open, revealing an overly excited /"Lavi." Allen glances up at him. "Mind helping me get Ed off of the floor?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"—/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""That's a lot of books." Lavi gawks at the stacks of volumes scattered around them. "What set you off?"br /"Tyki." Allen answers /"Tyki?" Lavi raises an /"He came through there." Allen points to the wall in question. "Talked for a bit and then left. Ed got pretty worked up about it."br /"Like, we're talking about the same Tyki right?" Lavi looks /"Yes." Allen nods. "He appeared with Road in his pocket and just said hello."br /"…" Lavi thinks for a moment before shrugging. "I shouldn't try to understand them."br /"He walked through a wall!" Ed interjects, finally on his feet. "It was impossible!"br /"…Yeah." Lavi shrugs again. "I try not to think about it too much."br /"As if." Allen scoffs. "Like you didn't do exactly the same thing the first time we met him."br /"…That's mean." Lavi /"It's true." Allen /"Well, I'm not you!" Ed points an accusatory finger at Lavi. "And I'll figure it out!"br /"I doubt it." Lavi /"What was that!?" Ed shouts, clearly bothered. "Think I can't do it!?"br /"Nope." Lavi says. "No one knows enough about the Noah."br /"The…Noah?" Ed /"They like calling themselves that." Lavi explains. "You know, Noah, from the bible story."br /"Uh, right." Ed says. "So, they're a bunch of religious nuts. Good to know."br /"Hey." Lavi frowns for a split second before looking over at Ed, making sure he got a good look at the large, silver cross on his /"Oh, right, sorry."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"—/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""We're still looking over the site." Falman holds a small report in front of Mustang's desk. "But we have a proper image of the transmutation circle." Falman drops one of the papers in front of /"And?" Mustang flips through the file, stopping at the large /"It doesn't match anything we have on file." Falman says. "Both legal and illegal."br /"Great." Mustang /"But," Falman adds. "Some of the, uh, exorcists mentioned knowing something about it."br /"…Bring them in."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"—/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Well, it's the same one that they always use." Lenalee /"Is that so?" Mustang takes a deep /"I've never seen any differentiation." Lenalee adds. "It's always that one."br /"Hm." Mustang looks back at the circle. The overlays of crosses and vaguely pentagram-like symbols looks back up at /"They usually don't draw it, though." Lenalee says /"What was that?" Mustang looks back up at /"I mean," Lenalee pauses, trying to find her words. "They usually have it on the Akuma itself, rather than somewhere for us to find it."br /"Likely to avoid someone else taking advantage of it." Mustang /"There's no shortage of people with bad intentions." Lenalee solemnly /"You say it's usually 'on the Akuma'?" Mustang says. "Doesn't the transmutation emcreate /emthe Akuma?"br /"Well…yes?" Lenalee pulls a face, seemingly /"Yes?"br /"Well, that's what Allen says, anyway."br /"Is that so?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"—/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Walker." Mustang enters the hospital room, file in one hand and scowl on his face. But once he takes a moment to observe the room, he freezes. "What's going on here?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Ed lies face down on the floor, again. Books still lie scattered around him, now accompanied by dozens of scattered pieces of paper, covered in mathematical notes and crossed out working./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Lavi lies across Allen's bed, his back laying over the younger boy's legs and facing looking curiously at Mustang, albeit upside /Allen seems to be watching passively, an unopened book in his hands and an amused smile on his face./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Yo." Lavi waves, not moving from his /"What d' you w'nt?" Ed speaks into the ground, also remaining /"I need to speak with you." Mustang ignores the other two and looks at /"About what?" Allen drops the book on Lavi, earning a small yelp in /"This." Mustang retrieves the image and passes it to /"Oh." Allen recognises it immediately. "What about it?"br /"I asked Miss Lee to explain the transmutation process to me." Mustang explains. "Unfortunately, she seemed to be lacking some particular details."br /"But she said that I could tell you?" Allen /"Yes. Can you?"br /"Lavi." Allen looks at the red head. "Aren't you the expert?"br /"Not really." Lavi sits up and looks at Mustang. "What did you need to know?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"—/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Right." Lavi nods /"So?" Mustang looks at him /"Well, I've never seen it myself," Lavi spares Allen a millisecond long glance, which doesn't go unnoticed by Mustang. "But I know how it theoretically works."br /Lavi swings his legs around, letting them hang over the edge of the bed. Mustang takes a seat, not breaking eye /"What she meant is," Lavi starts. "There's part of the circle that needs to be on the body."br /"The body." Mustang /"Because of the two parts of an Akuma." Lavi explains. "They-"br /"Three." Allen adds, arms crossed. "There are three parts."br /"Oh, right." Lavi nods. "Three /"Which would be?"br /"There's the body, right?" Lavi continues. "Someone already dead. Preferably more recent, but it doesn't particularly matter."br /"Why more recent?" Mustang /"Because people would still care." Allen says, staring down at his /"The second part is someone still alive." Lavi explains. "They prefer someone who comes willingly."br /"Why would they?" Mustang /"They lie." Lavi says. "They…promise that they can bring the person back. They convince them to help with the transmutation that way."br /"That's why it's better if…Right. Yes." Mustang nods. "Continue."br /"The last part is the…catalyst." Lavi explains. "If I had to compare it to anything, it'd be…probably a philosophers stone."br /"What!?" Ed jumps off the ground, suddenly /"Calm down." Lavi says quickly. "It's not actually a philosopher's stone. They call it 'Dark Matter'."br /"Dark Matter." Mustang nods and /"They have truckloads of it," Lavi gestures wildly. "and they don't need much for an Akuma."br /"How much?" Mustang /"About this much," Lavi uses his hands to mime a shape, about the size of a tennis ball. "It fuses with the Akuma once it's transmuted, it becomes part of it."br /"The circle needs to pass emthrough/em each of the parts." Allen says. "Before the transmutation, the right symbols are carved into the Dark Matter and the corpse."br /"And the third?" Mustang asks. "The human?"br /"That appears during the transmutation." Allen says, his voice dropping lower, seemingly unconsciously. "Since they're in the circle when it's activated."br /"And the Noah activate it?" Mustang /"No." Allen shakes his head. "They set things up, but we always activate it."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"A thick silence falls over the room, suffocating any further questions out of Mustang's mouth. Unfortunately, while this had explained a few things, there were a few more questions raised. Questions like-/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""We?" It's Ed who speaks up, immediately picking up on Allen's slip /"Huh?" Allen looks at him, slightly /"You said 'we'." Ed says, slightly louder. "'We always activate it.' Why did you say that?"br /"I…" Allen looks away, suddenly fascinated by his /"Stop it." Lavi sharply interjects, standing /"No." Ed answers with a /"It's none of your business." Lavi insists. "It's no ones."br /"He's my friend." Ed says, looking at Allen. "You're my friend."br /"Drop it." Lavi grabs Ed's /"No." Allen speaks this time, slipping out of the white bed sheets. "It's fine."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He walks over to Ed, leaning only slightly towards Lavi, who'd taken a spot by his /"What aren't you telling me?" Ed asks. "Hell, what are you telling me? I…I don't know anything about you." Ed looks conflicted. "Why?"br /Allen takes a deep breath and speaks./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I was ten."br /"Huh?" Ed looks at /"I was ten." Allen repeats. "And my adopted father had just died."br /"…" Ed feels a sick feeling well in his stomach./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I…I didn't know what else to do." Allen continues. "So, when they said they could bring him back…I just…"br /"I understand!" Ed surprised himself with how loud he speaks. "I-I mean…" He stops awkwardly. "I know how you feel."br /"…Thanks." Allen grins before dropping it again and turning to Mustang. "They put me in the circle, in the middle of a graveyard. But, when I tried, that's when things started to go wrong." He points at the oddly shaped scar on his face. "Like I said, the circle has to pass through all three parts."br /"The circle… did that to you?" Ed /"Yes." Allen nods. "But I got lucky, right at the last second, someone broke the circle."br /"Broke the circle?" Mustang /"It cancelled the transmutation." Allen explains. "And by then, the Earl'd already run off."br /"The Earl." Mustang repeats, clearly getting tired of being /"A Noah." Lavi explains. "The big bad guy. The one in charge."br /"Who saved you?" Ed /"…" Allen pulls a face, uncharacteristically /"What?" Ed recoils slightly. "What did I say!?"br /"The guy was a jackass." Allen's face darkens, a bitter smile on his face. "That womanising, two-faced, crooked, piss-ass, hare-brained, half wit…"br /"Is he okay?" Ed looks over at Lavi, who'd grinning /"Yeah, he's good." Lavi laughs. "But thinking about General Cross really ticks him off."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""…General Cross!?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"—/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongok i know it took a while, but my exams all finished some I'm ready to write again! I'm so sick of writing essays, I'm so happy to be writing this again!/strong/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongThanks for reading!/strong/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strong-Cheese Wizzard uwu*/strong/p 


	9. Chapter 8

**OK! Now, before i load on the excuses, I'm just doing a bit of clarification! This is set post-series, with most things carrying over! Except for all the nasty stuff cos I like it better my way, thank you very much. Al, for one, is in his own human bod, no metal stuff. Ed's all fleshy too, just saying. (at least they should be, if i slipped up and have said otherwise, please tell me!)**

 **this chap is a very quick continuation of the last chap's ending conversation, i just didn't feel like continuing it there. So, since it's been a while, i suggest just peeping back to see. I know I had to. :3 OK, get readin'!**

—

"You're talking about _the_ General Cross?" Ed pulls his own face. "Ew."  
"Ah." Al also scowls.  
"You've met him?" Lavi can't help but grin.  
"Unfortunately." Mustang answers with his own sour look.  
"He used to tell me about his military days." Allen adds, glad for the change in subject. "But, he never actually talked about actually military things."  
"I don't think he did any actual military things." Ed mutters. "That jerk."  
"Even through all his various titles, he always insisted on being called 'General'." Mustang adds. "I assume that's all your fault?"  
"Well, we only work with two titles, really." Lavi grins. "Being a General for us is pretty big, since there's only four of them right now, so I guess he'd like to flaunt it."  
"Like he flaunts everything else." Allen mutters.  
"Yeah, I guess." Lavi laughs.

"He…mysteriously disappeared a few years ago." Mustang says. "And that was?"  
"If by a few years, you mean seven, then yes." Allen nods. "That's when he started… 'taking care' of me, and I use that phrase in a _very_ flexible way."  
"Yeah, somehow, I guessed that." Ed frowns.  
"The General aside…" Mustang dismisses and turns to Ed. "I'll be needing a report on all this."  
"What!?" Ed scowls. "Why me!?"  
"You've been taking notes." Mustang smirks, gesturing to the stacks of scribbled paper by their feet. "I'm sure you're the most knowledgable at this point."  
"I feel like you insulted me somewhere in there." Ed glowers.  
"I'm sure he didn't." Al reassures.  
"I myself have a few things to write." Mustang heads to the door, Hawkeye in tow. "I'll be expecting your report by Wednesday morning."

Mustang exits with a flourish and the door slamming behind him. Ed glares after him, one hand threatening to snap his pen.  
"Hey Al?" Ed looks over at his younger brother.  
"Yes, Big Brother?"  
"What day is it today?"  
"…Tuesday."  
"Dammit!"

—

"Hey, these aren't half bad." Lavi grins at the rough sketches among the scattered papers. A crude-looking Akuma looks back.  
"Well, along with Allen's description they weren't that hard to put together." Al smiles. "Besides, I'm sure General Mustang would appreciate something more than just words."  
"Yeah, I'm sure he loves looking at pretty pictures." Ed digs solely through the papers.  
"A picture's worth a thousand words." Lavi shrugs, a wide grin on his face.  
"Hilarious." Ed huffs, pulling himself up with a few sheets in hand. "Okay, let's get this over with."

—

Ed and Al quickly retreat to the library, their apparent favoured destination for any sort of writing. This unfortunately leaves Lavi and Allen alone, stuck in the awkward silence of a mostly-empty hospital ward.

"So…" Lavi turns to Allen. The younger gazes out the window, intentionally avoiding Lavi's eyes. Lavi sighs, but pushes on. "It's been a while."

"You really gave everyone a scare, you know?" Lavi continues. "They…We thought you'd died."  
"…Sorry." Allen doesn't move, letting the word come out as barely a whisper.  
"Yeah, I know." Lavi smiles, but it doesn't take long for it to falter. "What really happened?"  
Allen shakes his head, one hand gripping at his white sheets. "Not yet."  
"But, someday?"  
"…Someday."  
"Then, that's good enough for me." Lavi grins, running a hand through his hair. "Just as long as you don't run off again, okay?"  
"…Okay."

—

 **The next morning**

"Hm." Mustang lets the pages flick through his fingers as he reads, just scanning the paragraphs for now.  
"You'd better appreciate all this shit I do for you, bastard." Ed reclines on the couch, sending a glare over to the older man.  
"Oh? I thought this was your _job_ , Fullmetal." Mustang smirks.  
"I never agreed to this." Ed huffs.  
"You never had the patience to read fine print." Mustang lowers the report, seemingly unsatisfied.  
"What is it now?" Ed frowns. "I put everything in there, Al made sure."  
"It's… mostly complete." Mustang says. "But, there's one thing I need clarified."  
"Hm? What's that?"

—

"Allen!" Ed trips over himself as the storms into Allen's room.  
"Ed?" Allen rolls over in his bed, one hand rising to rub his eyes. "What time is it?"  
"That doesn't matter." Ed answers just as Al does.  
"It's almost eight."

"Why are you here?" Allen sits up, wincing slightly at the movement.  
"I just needed to ask you something." Ed says, heading over.  
"What?" Allen watches him approach, still not sure what to make of the situation.  
"Mustang wanted to know." Al answers. "About that girl."  
"Oh, Road?" Allen nods. "What about her?"  
"After we found you, something happened." Ed recalls. "After you got free?"  
"Yeah?"  
"You attacked her." Ed says. "And then she…"  
"Exploded?" Al finishes. "Or something."  
"I didn't think you knew alchemy." Ed frowns. "I didn't really notice then, but, that was definitely strange."  
"Oh." Allen stops, trying to find his words. "I…I don't think…"

"Hello!" The door slams open. An overly excited Lavi bursts inside, waving enthusiastically.  
"Ah, good morning." Al greets them.  
"What's going on?" Lavi asks, spotting Ed and Allen.  
"Ah, Lavi." Allen looks over at him. "I'm… glad you're here."  
"Aw, thanks." Lavi coos.  
"I was just asking." Ed says. "About how Allen defeated that Noah."  
"Oh…" Lavi frowns. "I don't know if I can…" He meets Allen's eyes and lets out a sigh. "But, fine, I guess."  
"Thanks." Allen smiles.  
"Whatever you say, sprout." Lavi sits down on the bed, chin leaning into his hand. "Let's see…"

—

 _The Black Order is an ancient organisation. However, in recent years it has branched off to incorporate the advancing world around them. Founded by some of the first alchemists, the Black Order seeks to control the monstrosities created by their enemies. Upon the Order's conception, they swore to stop the efforts of the Noah family. Now, the Black Order fights against all unethical transmutations, including those banned and legalised by various countries. They work separately from any governments or organisations, allowing them to research and experiment without prosecution or unwanted attention._

—

"Sounds like bullshit." Ed decides. "And I don't think I want to know what 'experiments' these freaky guys are doing."  
"Brother!" Al reprimands.  
"Hm, fair enough." Lavi shrugs. "I suppose what the Order wants people to think and what they actually do are far separate."  
"And you still haven't given me an answer." Ed crosses his arms.  
"Right." Lavi frowns. "I'm getting to that."

—

 _One of the Black Order's most significant discoveries was that of a mineral they named 'Innocence'. The mineral was unstable, however, and could not last for long without a host. The Order then found its accommodators: people who could 'safely' merge with the Innocence and use its powers. Eventually, the practice of making exorcists evolved into using weapons when possible as well as attaching the mineral straight to the body. The mineral, in recent studies, showed some form of sentience, seeking out accommodators on its own upon creation. The Order would then seek those accommodators to take into their ranks. The Exorcists were tasked with fighting the Akuma and Noah family, since all other methods of physical violence or alchemy produced no results._

—

"That… sounds sinister." Ed says. "And unethical."  
"I suppose so." Lavi says. "I can't really defend them."  
"Is that right?" Ed raises an eyebrow.  
"Just," Lavi frowns. "It's probably best that keeps a secret."  
"What parts?" Ed asks. "What you've told me? Or what you're not telling me?"  
"Both." Lavi says. "Trust me."  
"Hm."  
"Most people in the Order mean well, Ed." Allen interjects. "Just don't think so badly of them."  
"Most of them, huh?" Ed frowns.  
"It's… complicated." Allen says.  
"I can tell."  
"I'm only telling you this because…" Lavi glances over at Allen. "Cos I know the sprout would probably tell you anyways."  
"…Yeah." Allen smiles sheepishly. "I probably would have."  
"But, I should warn you." Lavi says. "Try… try not to get too deep into it. It's _very_ complicated."  
"Complicated?" Ed scoffs. "It just sounds like a few choice people need a good pounding."  
"More than a few." Allen agrees.  
"Just keep to yourself for now." Lavi suggests. "I guess I can't really stop you."  
"Yeah, sure." Ed sighs. "For _now_."  
"Close enough." Lavi grins.  
"You're not going to tell Mustang, are you?" Allen asks.  
"Of course not." Lavi says. "I don't need the Amestrian government up our asses as well. We've got enough problems as is." He grins as gestures to Ed. "Not to mention this kid'll be on us the moment we're done here."  
"…Yeah." Ed grins. "I probably will be."  
"You'd better get back." Allen laughs, looking over at Lavi."  
"Aye aye." Lavi mock salutes. "I guess I'll be seeing you later?  
"Sure." Allen waves.  
"Keep out of trouble, you three." Lavi's eyes scan the room as he flashed one last grin. "Good luck."

—

 _The Noah family were descendants of one man. His name has since been lost and is only referred to now as the_ 'Earl'. _Ever since then, the head of the family would take that title as he would pursue their familial goal. Unbeknownst to those outside of the family, their ultimate goal remains a secret. Each family member contributes by forming connections and collecting information. But, above all, they seek to create Akuma. Every 'Noah' is infused with the mystical 'Dark Matter' upon birth. As the family lines intertwine or spread out, each generation becomes steadily more and more powerful. As far back as records go, there have only been on record of a family member abandoning the cause, unfortunately, this member was quickly disposed off and left no records nor spread any information of the unknown familial goal._

—

 **So… I'M REALLY SORRY  
I've been majorly slacking of writing and stuff, but its been a busy and not-so-great last month and a bit. thanks to people who have stuck around, and i'll try really hard to pick things back up again!**

 **Love from,  
Cheese Wizzard : )**


	10. Chapter 9

"What's that?" Allen leans over on his bed, looking over Ed's shoulder.  
"Just a little something." Ed scribbles a few more notes. "So I don't forget everything your friend said."  
"Can I see?" Allen asks.  
"Sure." Ed holds it up for him to see.

Allen peers down at the page of words and smiles. "Well, you're certainly thorough. Lavi'd be impressed."  
"You think?" Ed frowns, pulling it back. "I feel like I'm missing something."  
"Hm… maybe." Allen shrugs. "But, I can't think of it."

A quiet knock at the door interrupts them. A timid looking nurse enters the room, holding a couple papers in her hands.  
"Yes?" Allen look over at her."  
"U-Uh…" She takes a deep breath, unable to hide her pink cheeks. "The doctor w-will be here soon. To check up on you."  
"Ah, I see." Allen smiles. "Thank you."  
"N-No problem. Her blush deepens as she all but slams the door closed.  
"Smooth." Ed huffs.  
"What?" Allen looks at him.  
"Nothing." Ed pouts and then mutters. "Jeez, like you didn't notice."  
"I'm right here." Allen says. "I _can_ here you."

…

"You told them?" Kanda scowls. He leans up against a fading brick wall. The hospital is only a block away, the wide windows reflecting bright light down onto them. A few passersby give them odd looks, but none linger too long.  
"Lavi!" Lenalee reprimands.  
"What?" Lavi raises his hands in surrender. "If I hadn't, then Allen would've spilled _everything_. It's better that we… satisfy their needs without spreading the stuff we _really_ need to keep quiet."  
"That's…" Lenalee frowns. "Fair enough. But you should have asked first!"  
"I couldn't really just go call you." Lavi shrugs. "Besides, they'd probably find that much out anyway."  
"I know." Lenalee shakes her head. "Whatever."  
"So?" Lavi lowers his arms. "What's the plan now?"

"We have some new Orders." Lenalee says. "A call from headquarters came yesterday."  
"Is it bad?" Lavi frowns.  
"Sort of." Lenalee nods. "Apart from the Noah we've seen, it seems there's a small nest downtown. Over a hundred Akuma."  
"Well, that is bad." Lavi says. "Are we going now?"  
"We need to check in with General Mustang first." Lenalee says. "It was part of the deal that lets us do as we please."  
"So, we're not _really_ doing as we please." Lavi says.  
"It's better than what we usually get." Lenalee shrugs. "At least they're not sending people to follow us around."

"Then, we'd better get going." Lavi says.  
"Finally." Kanda huffs.

…

"You should be good to go." The doctor, an old man with large glasses, stands next to Allen's bed. "But you must avoid any strenuous activity for a while."  
"Right, of course." Allen nods. "Thank you."  
"Head down to the lobby when you're ready to check out." He says with a smile. "We'll take care of everything after that."

He closes the door softly behind him. Ed lets out a loud yawn as he gets out of his uncomfortable chair. "Great. let's get the hell out of here."  
"I couldn't agree more." Allen swings himself out of bed. "I get sick of hospitals too quickly."  
"Well, seeing how much time you spend in them-"

" _We_ spend, you mean." Allen grins.  
"Sure." Ed smiles. "Come on, let's see if your weird friends are with my weird friends."

…

"Here." Alphonse passes a small stack of papers to Riza, who takes them with a sigh.  
"He won't be happy about this."  
"I don't think General Mustang is happy about anything." Al says.  
"I suppose very little can do such a thing." Riza drops the papers onto the General's desk, right atop a small pile of similar documents. "Really, if he actually got a move on with these, maybe he could spend less time avoiding them and more time doing more productive things.  
"Ridiculous." Mustang, who's leaning back on his couch, glances over to them. "Did you forget that I was here?"  
"Not at all." Riza turns to him.  
"Ah, that's be impossible." Ed appears out of nowhere, leaning causally in the doorway. "Your ego is far too large to ignore."  
"Have you run dry of creative insults then, Fullmetal." Mustang scoffs. "Maybe you're losing your touch."  
"I suppose it's too familiar, for you, to receive such insults, General Mustang." Allen grins, standing at Ed's side. "That you've grown desensitised, perhaps?"  
"Brother!" Al grins at the two boys. "Allen! Are you feeling better?"  
"Enough that they've let me free." Allen says, stepping forward. "Is it just you here?"  
"Everyone else is busy downstairs." Al says. "We don't know what it is yet."  
"An urgent message of some sort." Riza says. "Someone should be here soon to relay it."

"Ah!" Havoc, as if on cue, falls through the doorway, almost tripping into Ed.  
"Havoc?" Ed watches the man catch his balance and turn to Mustang.  
"You need to come downstairs!" Havoc says, pointing down the hall.  
"What is it?" Mustang is on his feet in a second, striding towards him.  
"Falman's on the phone with the western-side police office." Havoc says."They need backup, fast."  
"What'd the problem?" Mustang asks.  
"I should probably let them tell you." Havoc says.  
"So be it." Mustang turns to Hawkeye. "Riza! Let's go."  
"Yessir." Riza is by his side immediately. The pair head out the door quickly, leaving everyone else behind.  
"Has something happened?" Al asks, stepping forward.  
"Man, I don't know." Havoc collapses onto the sofa. "They were saying some pretty weird things. But, I'm sure there something alchemy involved."  
"What kind of weird things?" Allen leans over the couch.

"What'd they say, Havoc?" Ed leans over from the other side.  
"Uh…" Havoc looks between them, and then to Alphonse standing in front of him. "Oh, man."

…

"Hello?" Mustang leans over the small desk, pressing the speaking to his ear.  
" _G-General!?_ " A panicked voice answers. Loud screeching sounds in the background, like grinding metal, along with an annoying static through the phone.  
"Yes." Mustang says, trying his best to speak clearly. "What is going on over there?"  
" _M-Monsters!_ " The man cries. " _O-Our men w-who fell, I was sure that they'd been- that they were d-dead! B-But now they're back! Walking like you or I!_ "  
"That's impossible." Mustang shakes his head. "What are they doing?"  
" _They've turned against us!_ " He says. " _A-Already, some of us are-_ " His voice cuts out suddenly before turning into a harrowing scream. Mustang drops the speaker, but the screams are loud enough that they fill the room.  
"Hawkeye!" Mustang turns to the woman. "Go get-"

The screaming stops, suddenly, and the room falls quiet. Not a second later, a voice returns, speaking out into the room.  
" _Hello? Is anyone there?_ " The voice isn't the one Mustang heard before. It's a deeper, with an underlying humour beneath the words.  
Mustang glances over at Riza, who only nods stiffly.  
"Hello?" Mustang picks up the speaker again, holding it an inch away from his ear.  
" _It's a pleasure, General Roy Mustang._ " The voice cackles. It takes Mustang a second to realise that it's two people on the other side, not one.  
" _Hey! Hey!_ " The first voice returns, a slightly higher pitch to the other.  
" _Back off!_ " The second voice yells, followed by some unseen scuffling on the other side.  
" _We got your grunts!_ " The first voice laughs again.  
" _Wanna come see?_ " The second voice says, breaking into a similar laughter. " _Don't worry, we'll wait!_ "  
" _See you soon!_ "

The connection drops with an unpleasant ring. Mustang drops the phone, stepping away from the small desk. A nervous looking soldier stands by the door, eyeing the speaker nervously.  
"Stay here." Mustang orders the man. "Report to me immediately if there's anything else."  
"Y-Yessir!" The man nods.  
"Hawkeye." Mustang turns to her. "Back to my office."

…

"Zombies!?" Al says, aghast.  
"I don't know what to think about it." Havoc sinks into the couch. "They seemed pretty anxious."  
"I would be." Al agrees.  
"What do you think it is?" Ed asks Allen.  
"Well…" Allen frowns. "Actually, it could be a few things."  
"What kind of things?" Al asks.  
"Very bad things." Allen says. "I suppose it could be Akuma, a specialised one. But, it might also be the Noah again."  
"Didn't they _just_ turn up?" Ed scowls. "Maybe this time I'll get a good punch in."  
"Noah?" Al asks. "You said that there's a lot of them, right Allen?"  
"Yeah, that's right." Allen nods.  
"Do you know who it is?" Ed asks.  
"It…It might be a few of them." Allen admits. "If we could find out some more, then-"

The door slams open, revealing a serious looking Mustang.  
"Sir!" Havoc jumps up. "What's the verdict?"  
"Are you going?" Al asks, watching the man stalk over to his desk.  
"You have three minutes." Mustang looks over at Havoc. "We leave then."  
"R-Right!" Havoc scrambles for the door and heads out into the hall.  
"Us too!" Ed volunteers, jumping towards the man.  
"It's not like I can stop you." Mustang sighs. "Fine."  
"What did you hear?" Allen asks. "What happened?"  
"Two voices." Mustang says, pulling on his jacket.  
"Both male?" Allen asks. "One higher than the other? Both annoying?"  
"That's it." Mustang nods. "Do you know them?"  
"Jasdevi." Allen grimaces. "That's not so good."  
"What's a Jasdevi?" Ed asks.  
"Twins." Allen explains. "Two twin Noah with _very_ annoying abilities."  
"Talk while you move." Mustang orders, heading to the door. "Riza's already gotten us a ride."

…

The groaning military vehicle shudders and shakes as it hits every speed bump and every curb.

"Ah!" Ed falls over, again, into the side of the car as Riza jerks the wheel sharply.  
"How far is it?" Allen leans forward to where Roy sits in the other front seat.  
"Just towards this end of the city." Mustang says. "We'll arrive in a minute."  
"Who're all them?" Allen asks, pointing backwards. Half a dozen other cars speed behind them, chasing them down the street.  
"Back up." Mustang answers.  
"Hey, I can see Havoc!" Ed stares out the back window, inspecting the insides of the nearby cars.  
"Here!" Mustang points down a side street.

As they continue forward, Allen notices a distinct lack of other traffic or pedestrians around them. Only an occasional shady looking figure lurks in the alleys they pass. The loud spewing of the myriad of engines fills the air, but a nervous silence wafts through nonetheless.  
"Stop." Mustang says.  
The car rolls to a stop in the middle of the street. The entourage of car behind them also squeal to a stop, leaving only their dull echoes in Allen's ears.  
"That's where they should have been." Mustang says, looking out the window. Beside them, a large, official-looking building towers with the Amestrian army logo emblazoned on the front. The glass double doors at the street have been smashed open along with all the windows. The once impeccable paint job has been assaulted with brightly coloured paints sprayed over the wall, giving the building a look of one long abandoned.  
"That was definitely them." Allen points to the paint job. "They can't help themselves."  
"What's the plan?" Al asks, looking to Mustang.  
"Your exorcist friends were unavailable." Mustang says. "However, it's likely they'll be here already. We simply need to provide support." He sighs. "And remove any survivors from harm's way."  
"Boring!" Ed groans. "I need to kick some ass!"  
"Well, I'm sure you'll get the opportunity." Mustang clicks his door open and steps out onto the street.  
"Come on." Ed pushes his own door open and jumps out onto the footpath.  
"Ah!" Al jumps out after him.  
"What about you?" Allen leans forward to ask Riza.  
"I'll wait." Riza smiles. "Just in case they try to escape." The clenches her pistol in her hand, holding it up so it shines in the light.  
"Ah, right." Allen slides over to the door.  
"And you?" Riza glances back. "You're not fully healed yet. It might be dangerous."  
"I'll try to stay out of trouble." Allen says. "But, I need to be there, at least, even if I can't fight."  
"If you're sure." Riza nods, turning back to the front. "But I'll be out here if you need me."  
"Thanks." Allen grins, stepping out of the car. The others have already disappeared inside, along with a dozen soldiers.  
"You ready?" Havoc stands outside his own vehicle, apprehensively looking over at the door. "In all my years I never thought I'd have to deal with zombies."  
"It'll be fine." Allen says. "Just remember to aim for their heads."

…

 **of all the things Jasdevi could spring up for fun, i feel like they'd be fans of some creepy zombie things. Don't worry, it'll get interesting soon. maybe the exorcists will actually show up :p**

 **WElp, I'm sorry that it's taken a while, but i've been working on stuff. my school mid-year exams are next week and go for a little while, so i might not be able to write much :3**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading!**

 **Love from,  
The Cheese Wizzard**


	11. Chapter 10

**Guess who's not dead!**

 **Spoiler: it's me.**

—

"…Guys?" Allen takes a careful step into the building. Havoc stands behind him, gun out and ready. There's no sounds nearby, only echoes of shouts and footsteps bouncing around the back of the building.  
"They've already gone." Havoc sighs. "Typical." He starts to lower his weapon, but a loud crash beside them has it up in the air immediately.  
A body, a middle-aged man, leans against the shattered window, glass spilling over the ground now wet with his blood. The blood, which spills over both the man's legs and chest. His eyes roll over to look at the pair near the entrance. Allen hears Havoc choke slightly at the sight.  
"Holy shit." Havoc doesn't lower his gun.  
The man doesn't move for a few more seconds, just staring. This gives Allen just enough time to notice the prominent gunshot wound in the man's chest, sporting a bright purple mark over the fabric and flesh. Unfocused eyes stare straight ahead as his limbs twitch. In an instant, the man is back up and charging forward.  
"Woah!" Havoc fires, landing shots in the man's chest. One goes and hits the man's left eye, stunting him. Mid-run, the man stops, eye spilling with blood.  
"Gross." Allen scowls, ready to jump out of the way.  
The man, after regaining his bearings, drops back to staring at them.  
"Didn't that work?" Havoc frowns.  
"…The chest." Allen points to the purple mark. "Can you get it there?"  
"Probably." Havoc slowly aims. As he does, the man starts moving again, although slower than before.

The shot goes off, sending the man to the floor. He doesn't move again, staring straight up at the ceiling with his one remaining eye.  
"How'd you know?" Havoc asks.  
"A guess." Allen steps forward, approaching the body.  
"You sure you want to do that?" Havoc stays at a distance.  
"It's probably fine." Allen shrugs, crouching down. The reaches out, poking the man's face. He doesn't move, which is about as much confirmation as Allen'll get. "Let's see…" He moves to look at the chest wound, now two. The two holes are almost overlapping, with only a few centimetres between them. Within the first, Allen fails to spot a bullet, which is expected from the twins.  
"What's the plan, then?" Havoc asks, inching forward.  
"Aim for the purple marks." Allen advises. "If you see two annoying guys with guns, run."  
"I can work with that." Havoc turns back to the corridor. "We should go."  
"Mm, okay." Allen gets back to his feet. "Lead the way."

…

"What the fuck!?" Ed ducks another grasping man. He gleaming of his police badge is almost completely muffled by running blood. The man's head is decorated with a large wound in his head, staining the skin and hair purple. Ed dodges another swipe and returns it with his own. The metal blade hits the man's head squarely, tearing into the skin. Ed feels the skull crack under his force and watches the man fall to the ground, still.  
"Brother!" Al, beside him, takes his hand and pulls him away. "They're going ahead!"  
"I got it!" Ed continues down the next hallway, half a dozen soldiers in front of him. "What's down here, again?"  
"The storage room." A woman turns to answer. "It's pretty large, so it's likely where the rest of the officers are."  
"Ah, thanks." Al turns to Ed. "Ready?"  
"I guess." Ed glances behind them, where the hallway remains empty. "Where's Allen?"  
"With Havoc, I think." Al answers. "They stayed back."  
"Good." Ed turns back to the front just as they reach the large double doors. The entrance is barred with iron and locks, sealing the confidential documents safely inside. Just beyond, Ed can hear laughter, shrill and foreboding.  
"Fullmetal?" Mustang, at the front, turns back to the others.  
"Yeah, yeah." Ed steps forward. With a quick press against the door, he lets it dissolve under his touch, turning to a fine dust. It spills over the floor, clearly opening up the inside of the room.

"Yo!" A man stands in the room's centre. He's dressed almost entirely in black, complete with dark make up over his eyes. A large pistol hangs in his hand, glistening in the light of the burning room. Ed sees the stocks of paper disappearing into ash against the walls. He can't help but feel offended at the waste of information, years of documents of criminals, of incidents, lost in an instant thanks to this madman.  
"Hi hi!" Another voice brings Ed's eyes upwards, to where another person hands off the wiry light. It takes a moment for Ed to determine that it's _not_ some insane woman, just an insane man _?_ Who's laughing his ass off above them.

"I'm Devit!" The first man laughs.  
"I'm Jasdero!" The second chortles as he jumps from the light, landing near the other.  
"Together," The say, in abnormal unison. "We're Jasdevi!"  
"That's what Allen said, right?" Al squeezes up to stand by his brother.  
"Sounds right." Ed nods, not taking his eyes off the pair.

"Well, now I'm bored." Devit turns to Jasdero. "What do you think?"  
"Yeah!" Jasdero laughs. "Let's go!"  
On cue, Ed sees a dozen figures emerge from the flames. It takes a second to stomach the burning of their skin, their clothes, their flesh. Ed watches the fire dance over them, even if they don't seem to notice. They shuffle forward, slowly turning black and ashen except for the bright splashes of violet.  
"Stay alert!" Mustang calls.  
"Woo hoo!" Jasdevi calls. They step back, letting the wave of figures overtake them.  
"This'll be easy." Ed tenses. "Let's do this."

…

"Ah." Allen stops, hearing the sounds of gunshots ahead.  
"Is that bad or good?" Havoc asks, the gunshots persisting.  
"Let's find out." Allen frowns, continuing forward.  
"Aye aye."

They pass another room, where bodies are strewn across the floor. Allen notes the warped floor and walls with a smile. "Ed's definitely been here."  
"…Can you smell that?" Havoc scowls. "Gross."  
"Smoke?" Allen pauses.  
"I can deal with smoke." Havoc shakes his head. "Smells rotten."  
"This way." Allen points down the next hall.

They head forward, approaching the loud sounds head of them. It doesn't take long for them to find the ex-door and storage room. Immediately, they're hit with the heat of the flames.  
"Shit." Havoc slows at the entrance. Within, he can see more bodies, strewn over the floor.  
"Ed!" Allen spots Edward at the far end of the room, with Al by his side.  
"Havoc!" Mustang comes into view, frowning. "Hurry up!"  
"Ah, right!" Havoc hops forward, stepping inside.  
Mustang's eyes linger on Allen, however.  
"What?" Allen stares back.  
"Stay out of trouble." Mustang sighs. "Not that it'll make a difference." He steps aside, meeting a burning figure. "Go, then."

…

"Ed!" Allen calls, jumping forward. He pouches the burning man right in the head, knocking him sideways.  
"What happened to staying out of it?" Ed scowls at him.  
"A 'thank you' would be nice." Allen huffs.  
"Are you alright, Allen?" Al asks.  
"Peachy." Allen shrugs.  
"Yeah, right." Ed reaches out to hit the wall, bursting forth a stream of hard concrete that splits through the fallen man's left arm, destroying the purple imprint.

"Yay! Yay!" Jasdevi, both now up on the light, swing back and forth.  
"That's enough!" Mustang calls up at them. All of Jasdevi's 'zombies' have fallen, lying scattered across the floor. Around them, the fires have almost died out, leaving only bleeding embers in the ash.  
"What?" Jasdero groans, staring down. "We're only just starting." He raises his weapon, aiming it straight at Mustang."  
"Look out!" Someone cries out, but Mustang doesn't have enough time to move. The bullet hits him straight in the head, squarely between his eyes. However, he doesn't fall. Mustang continues to stare upwards. Where he was impacted is only a mass of violet goo. The goo spreads instantly, peeling over his eyes.  
"Woah." Ed doesn't move, only watching from a distance.  
Mustang, slowly, drops his head to look over at them. His eyes are still open but appear distorted through the violet.  
"Sir?" Havoc steps forward, reaching out to the man.  
"Wait!" Allen calls out, but Havoc still hits the floor. Mustang stands over him, gripping Havoc's arm dangerously tight.  
"Hah!?" Havoc grimaces at the impact.  
"Nice!" Jasdero laughs, almost tripping himself off of the light.  
"Get back!" Allen cries.  
"I'd love to." Havoc turns back to Mustang, who's still gripping his arm. "Um…"

"Move it!" Ed, suddenly by Mustang's side, happily elbows the man in the face, knocking him back. His grip on Havoc loosens, letting the man jump back.

In the background, Jasdevi continues to laugh above them.  
"What's going on?" Al asks, heading after his brother.  
"That thing over his eyes!" Allen says. "It's changing what he's seeing."  
"Hah?" Jasdero peers down at Allen. "Whatcha' doin'!? Let us have our fun!"  
"As if." Allen doesn't dignify the man with a look, only stepping towards Mustang.  
"You going mad?" Ed scowls at Mustang.

Mustang doesn't speak, instead, he holds out his hand. The glove on his hand, along with the transmutation circle on its back, is impeccably clean.  
"Stop him!" Allen orders.  
"Right!" Ed throws his hands to the ground. Concrete jumps up into the air, wrapping around Mustang's outstretched hand. But, it's not fast enough. Before the concrete finishes its movement, a blast of orange heat bursts through the air.

Blinded, Allen hits the ground. He feels his gut protest with a sting of pain, but he ignores it.  
"Allen!" Al appears by his side as the light fades. As everything fades back into view, Allen registers the hot sting over his skin. Al, beside him, appears flushed with heat, skin red. In front of them, Ed swears.  
"Shit!" He pats hurriedly at his burning coat, smothering the lingering flames.  
"Brother!" Al gets to his feet, reaching out.  
"Phew." Ed grins as the last of the fire disappears, but immediately scowls at the dark marks left over the fabric. He looks up to glare at Mustang, who's still looking at them with glazed eyes. "Bastard! Watch it!"  
"I don't think he can, Brother." Al says. "That's the point."  
"Whatever." Ed turns up to Jasdevi, away from the concrete-stalled Mustang.  
"Aw man." Jasdero groans. "That wasn't fun at all."  
"Then, let's make it funner." Devit laughs. He raises his pistol again.  
"Ed!" Allen turns to the blond. "Stop him!"  
"Got it!" Ed leaps forward, happily jumping up on Mustang's restrains; they're lucky that the roof isn't that far off. Ed grabs the light, causing both Jasdero and Devit to cry out in surprise.  
"Hey!" Jasdero yelps, trying to grab at Ed's hands. "Get off!"  
"Go away!" Devit points his pistol down, but Ed jump away too quickly, standing level with the pair.  
"Take this!" Ed kicks Jasdero squarely in the chest. Both twins topple down, hitting the ground with a satisfying crack.  
"Hey!" Jasdero, on top of his brother, looks up to glare at Ed.  
"Take this!" Devit, pistol still drawn points it up.  
"Woah!" Ed doesn't have enough time to move this time.

A large blast of blue-tinted flames explode upwards. Ed instinctively raises his hands over his face to protect from the blast, but as the flames hit his skin, they don't burn.  
"Huh?" Ed cautiously lowers his arms to see. A vibrancy of blues swirls around him, dancing in the air as they fill the room. Ed glances down, where he sees Al and the other soldiers looking around with the same confusion. The flames don't appear to be subsiding, letting Ed take a longer look around. He, eventually, finds Allen. Ed spots the familiar mop of white hair right beside Mustang, but with his back to Ed, he can't see what's going on.  
Jasdevi, below, both start laughing loudly, the sounds echoing clearly in the stunned silence.  
"What the hell is this!?" Ed takes it upon himself to respond, adding a strong glare to the pair.  
"Wanna see?" Jasdero laughs. He pulls out his own pistol. He points it, not at Ed, but behind his head to where the group of soldiers stand. A black stream of smoke, too solid to be natural, spins out from the gun's barrel. It hits a soldier in the back from his staring up at the wall of fire. The man doesn't notice at first but, as the place of impact begins to spiral out into a black void, he turns around. His eyes meet the two laughing twins, confusion filling his expression. Beside him, his fellows cry out in surprise, pointing at the widening darkness. In an instant, the black spreads upwards, covering the man's face to a figure more reminiscent of a shadow than a man.  
"What?" Ed stares, uncomfortable at the constant confusion rocking through him.  
"Get away from him!" Allen's voice interrupts his thoughts. At his words, the group of soldiers scatter, abandoning the frozen man.  
"Aw!" Devit groans. The man explodes into black air. The ashes spill into the room, but are quickly sucking into the blue flames. Ed grimaces, in watching the twins, he'd failed to notice the wall of fire extending to the corners of the room, blanketing every surface, including their exit.

The fire continues to burn. The blackness that was once a man persists, however, spinning with the fire. Ed can feel the light below him rock from an unknown force. His hair starts to spin in the air, sucked around from an invisible force.  
"Ed!" Ed looks down to see Allen looking up at him. Mustang, face and eyes clear, stands unhappily by his side. "Don't let the fire touch anything else!" Allen points to the flames. "The more it burns, the stronger it gets! It'll suck everything, _everyone_ in!"  
"Stop it!" Devit spins around to look at Allen, pouting. "Don't spoil it! That's cheating!"  
"It's your own fault." Allen turns to snipe back at them. "You're the ones reusing your old traps."  
"But they're fun!" Jasdero complains.  
"How do we stop this, then?" Mustang can't help himself from picking at his eyes, where the feeling of the goo still lingers.  
"Split them up." Allen doesn't bring his gaze away from the pair, feeling almost triumphant at their matching scowls. "Knock 'em out, or scare 'em off."  
Ed grins, listening in from above. "Gladly."

—

 **ok, so this did take longer than I'd like, but I'm finally off exams! Bad news is that the power's been out for a little while, so I haven't been able to get online to post this :(  
Thanks for reading!  
Please tell me if anything needs clarification, if i've messed up the continuity or just done something stupid. :P**

 **Thanks again!  
Love from,  
Cheese Wizzard**


End file.
